Inherent Strategic Ambiguity between Objectives and Actions: Russia’s ‘Information War’
Inherent Strategic Ambiguity between Objectives and Actions: Russia’s ‘Information War’
Author(s): Ofer FridmanSubject(s): Media studies, Security and defense, Political behavior, Politics and communication, Geopolitics, Peace and Conflict Studies, Russian Aggression against Ukraine
Published by: NATO Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence
Keywords: Russia; Ukraine; Syria; ambiguity; information war; strategic communications; strategic communication;
Summary/Abstract: The concept and practice of strategic ambiguity have long been the subject of scholarly inquiry. In an attempt to understand how it can be used in strategic communications (SC), this article explores Russia’s conceptualisation and implementation of ‘information war’ by adopting a dialectic approach. First, it examines the Kremlin’s actions in Syria and Ukraine through the traditional approach to strategy as an act of navigation. Second, it takes an opposite framework, approaching the Kremlin’s ‘information war’ as a strategy of wayfinding (strategy without design). Finally, based on the dialectic synthesis of these two approaches, the conclusion offers several recommendations for the practice of SC in general.
Journal: Defence Strategic Communications
- Issue Year: 12/2023
- Issue No: 12
- Page Range: 187-230
- Page Count: 44
- Language: English