The Role of Information in U.S. Concepts for Strategic Competition

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Paul, Christopher

Contributor:

Bartels, Elizabeth M.

Bauer, Ryan

Schwille, Michael

Vasseur, Michael

Language:

English

Place of Publication:

RAND Corporation 2022

Summary:

Strategic competition is a long game between those with a vested interest in preserving the international order of rules and norms dating back to the post-World War II era and revisionist powers seeking to disrupt or reshape this order. The gray zone occupies a position with blurred boundaries on the spectrum from cooperation to competition and then conflict. Gray zone activities provide a strategic advantage for one competitor while complicating the response calculus of another. This is because competition in the gray zone is characterized by incrementalism, deception, and ambiguity, all of which make it difficult to decipher what is occurring, who is responsible, and how an action supports broader or longer-term interests. Competitors gain an advantage when they can harness all elements of national power-diplomatic, information, military, and economic-but success hinges on the effective use of the information environment, in particular. There is emerging consensus that the United States needs to reject the traditional notion that peace and war are dichotomous states. Competition today occurs in the space between. To mount an effective response to adversary activities in the gray zone, it is important to understand how adversaries leverage information, the ends that gray zone activities serve, and the capabilities and authorities needed to respond to them. This report offers a detailed enumeration of gray zone activities that support competition, a synthesis of expert consensus on challenges to gray zone competition, and a dynamic menu of solutions to enhance the U.S. competitive position in the gray zone and beyond.