Science, Strategy and War The Strategic Theory of ... - Boekje Pienter

The close parallels with Boydian military thinking also come to the fore in theorganizational consequences for militaries in the information age and for their command andcontrol philosophy. Noting that Cyberwar is not simply a set of measures based ontechnology, but is as much about organization, the organizational consequences should alsobe addressed, for the information revolution:disrupts and erodes the hierarchies around which institutions are normally designed. Itdiffuses and redistributes power, often to the benefit of what may be considered weaker,smaller actors. It crosses borders, and redraws the boundaries of offices and responsibilities.It expands the spatial and temporal horizons that actors should take into account 109 .Thus the advise to adaptive organization is that:The responsive, capable institutions will adapt their structures and processes to theinformation age. Many will evolve from traditional hierarchical forms to new, flexible,network-like models of organization. Success will depend on learning to interlace hierarchicaland network principles. The very changes that trouble institutions, such as erosion ofhierarchy, favor the rise of multi-organizational networks[….]Multi-organizational networksconsist of (often small) organizations or parts of institutions that have linked together to actjointly. Indeed, the information revolution favors the growth of such networks by making itpossible for diverse, dispersed actors to communicate, consult, coordinate, and operatetogether across greater distances, and on the basis of more and better information than everbefore 110 .Adopting a network structure is not an option but an imperative, for case studies stronglysuggest that ‘institutions can be defeated by networks and it may take networks to counternetworks’ 111 . Command and organization for future warfare:may require major innovations in organizational design, in particular a shift from hierarchiesto networks. The traditional reliance on hierarchical designs may have to be adapted tonetwork-oriented models to allow greater flexibility, lethal connectivity, and teamwork acrossinstitutional boundaries. The traditional emphasis on command and control may have to giveway to an emphasis on consultation and coordination, the crucial building blocks of networkdesigns 112 .Moving to networked structures may require some decentralization of command and control.But decentralization is only one part of the picture: the new technology may also providegreater ‘topsight’, a central understanding of the big picture that enhances the managementof complexity. The pairing of decentralization with topsight brings the real gains 113 .Several years after this article Arquilla en Ronfeldt explored more in detail the possibleoptimal organizational concept for information age warfare. The idea that small units nowhad access to unprecedented levels of situational awareness, and could call in stand-offprecision firepower offered new possibilities. They offered the “Swarming concept”, takingtheir inspiration from Martin Libicki’s chapter ‘The Small and the Many’ that was included in109 Ibid, p.143.110 Ibid, p.144111 Ibid, p.152.112 John Arquilla and David Ronfeldt, ‘Emerging Modes of Conflict’, Comparative Strategy, vol. 12, no.4,1993, p. 158.113 Arquilla and Ronfeldt, ‘Cyberwar is Coming’, p.146.307