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Deterrence in the 21st century: Foreword

Deterrence in the 21st century
Foreword
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table of contents
  1. Contents
  2. Foreword
  3. Preface
    1. Introduction
  4. Section I Deterrence as an Evolving Concept
    1. 1 Deterrence Is Always about Information: A New Framework for Understanding
    2. 2 Nuclear Crisis Management for the Information Age
    3. 3 Deterrence by De-legitimization in the Information Environment: Concept, Theory, and Practice
  5. Section II Wider Strategic Context and Experiences
    1. 4 Understanding Russia’s Approaches to Information Warfare
    2. 5 The Evolution of China’s Information Exploitation of COVID-19
    3. 6 Deterrence in the Gaza Conflict: Hamas Case Study Analysis
    4. 7 Resilience as a Framework for Deterrence in the Information Age: Lessons Learned from Israel about Information and Influence Operations
  6. Section III Canada’s Context
    1. 8 Deterrence and Strategic Disinformation: An Overview of Canada’s Responses
    2. 9 Exit, Voice, or Loyalty? Functional Engagement as Cyber Strategy for Middle Power Statecraft
  7. Section IV Emerging Tools and Approaches
    1. 10 Digital Tribalism and Ontological Insecurity: Manipulating Identities in the Information Environment
    2. 11 Deterrence for Online Radicalization and Recruitment in the Twenty-First Century
    3. 12 Assessing Influence in Target Audiences that Won’t Say or Don’t Know How Much They Have Been Influenced
    4. Conclusion
    5. Afterword
    6. Postface
  8. List of Abbreviations
  9. About the Authors
  10. Index

Foreword

Twenty-first-century communication technologies offer many opportunities for economic growth and social development but present also many challenges and threats to democratic nations like Canada. Among those threats, Internet-powered disinformation is a potent one that is becoming increasingly worrisome. Individual reputations can be ruined rapidly, discord and manipulation among various groups can be easily planted, and institutions like the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and the Government of Canada are certainly not immune to the destabilizing effect of lies, exaggerations, and twisted truths conveyed through communication technologies by organized malign actors.

Our troops deployed in support of building a peaceful and democratic world in countries such as Latvia, Ukraine, or Mali have faced various forms of disinformation campaigns. Domestically, the COVID-19 pandemic has shown how much we need to be ever vigilant against foreign and internal actors seeking to undermine our democratic foundations. This is indeed a very real challenge.

The CAF has been proactive in developing strategies and action plans to contain and protect Canada against disinformation. Yet, this is a dynamic phenomenon fuelled by ongoing technological and social change, and it requires constant update to our knowledge and approaches to remain effective in dealing with such threats. It is in this context that this timely book introduces an in-depth discussion on whether dissuasion would be an effective policy to fight back. This book brings together many experts from Canada and abroad to provide answers to central questions useful for future policy formulations and implementation, military doctrines, and procedures.

A range of important questions are addressed here, such as whether the fight against disinformation should follow the more classical approach of using both deterrence by denial and punishment; how lessons from nuclear deterrence can be distilled and applied to today’s challenges; how well is Canada prepared in dealing with the new disinformation strategies emerging from anti-democratic adversaries; what can be learned from other democracies; what kind of existing and emerging approaches show promises; and many more.

Disinformation presents a complex and dynamic challenge that will be with us for quite some time. Well-informed policies and military doctrines regarding the information environment are needed more than ever. The ideas, knowledge, and recommendations found in this book represent a strong step in the right direction. Hence, I recommend to anyone interested in combatting disinformation, either in uniform or not, to read this book and push ever further our collective efforts to defeat disinformation.

Vice-Admiral B. Auchterlonie

Commander, Canadian Joint Operations Command

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Deterrence in the 21st Century
© 2024 Eric Ouellet, Madeleine D’Agata, and Keith Stewart
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