MACRO-PERSPECTIVE: STRATEGY WITHOUT DESIGN
MACRO-PERSPECTIVE: STRATEGY WITHOUT DESIGN

Author(s): Ofer Fridman
Subject(s): Media studies, Government/Political systems, Political behavior, Politics and communication, ICT Information and Communications Technologies, Peace and Conflict Studies
Published by: NATO Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence
Keywords: Russia’s Hybrid Media System; Kremlin; Russian political-military strategists; Russia’s media system;
Summary/Abstract: ‘Modern Westerners,’ argues cultural psychologist Richard E. Nisbett, ‘like the ancient Greeks, see the world in analytic, atomistic terms; they see objects as discrete and separate from their environments; they see events as moving in linear fashion when they move at all; and they feel themselves to be personally in control’. Therefore, it is not surprising that the Western approach to strategy is dominated by the notion of linear progression towards objectives defined in advance, as Western ‘institutionalized habits focus only upon analytic and linear models’. Strategy is commonly perceived as a combination of ‘calculation and control to effect planned movement over a predictable but fast-moving environment in order to realize well-designed aims’. Consequently, the application of this linear thinking to the Kremlin’s behaviour has repeatedly led Western researchers to characterize President Putin as ‘astrategic’ or a ‘tactical’ player who is ‘adept at short-term tactical responses to setbacks, but less talented at long-term strategy’. Moreover, when applied to Russia’s hybrid media environment, these linear models would understand it in terms of pre-thought plans which were then orchestrated and coordinated to achieve the desired control over the media or the narrative.

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