Aisha Saeed
The deep structural and technological development and modifications occurring in the modern warfare has equipped states to influence opinion, garner soft power and destabilize other governments. This, however; does not imply that the use of conventional conflict is over, but rather points to the formation of an environment suitable to exercise power and control. The world remains prone to direct or indirect conflict, making unconventional methods like Information Warfare the face of future conflicts.
Information Warfare in the military term refers to the management and use of information to gain advantage for offensive and defensive purpose. The definition varies from practitioners to scholars and hence remains subjected to different interpretations depending upon the context. For instance, the US Department of Defense delineates Information Warfare as the impact of information on an actual (tactical) conflict. But put simply, Information Warfare is the strategic use, collection, analysis, alteration and dissemination of information or data to gain military or political aims against the adversary. With access to information acquired through intelligence, other agents or non-state actors, Information Warfare deters Clausewitz’s “fog of war”.
With the advent of the age of information where non-state actors, traditional and social media have become driving forces of action in state plays, information and public opinion has become a valuable commodity. Current conflicts are being fought mainly on two fronts, as David Patrikarakos suggests. The first, he says is the physical (conventional) dimension of war whereas the second is the information or the narrative dimension of war. While narrative building or propaganda has a long history, the incorporation of traditional and social media in Information Warfare has changed how military practitioners and governments view and engage with these mediums of information.
Internet is an integral part of a military’s ICT (information and communication technology) command and it connects most of the world together through social media. The internet has also become an interphase of traditional and social media, and for the governments and their militaries.
To explain concisely how Information Warfare transcends from the mere usage of different mediums of information into a larger conflict, authors Peter W. Singer and Emerson T. Brooking provide an important insight on the subject. They lay down five essential principles related to how the social media in particular is being used in the Information Warfare.
According to the two authors, the Internet is rapidly maturing and growing. The internet is global, instantaneous and is entrenched in the social, political and the economic fabric of societies. The second and the most the relevant to the concept of Information Warfare is the principle states that the Internet has become a battlefield in its own right. As much as it is used by organizations, businesses and individuals; it is also indispensable to militaries, governments and armed groups. The internet is used to advance in the interests against the adversaries. Thirdly, authors view the internet’s connectivity to social media and examine how these mediums are changing conflicts. Once any classified information (like WikiLeaks) is made public (via internet) it can be disseminated extensively and with far- reaching consequences in a short span of time. As a result, it changes the concept of war, blurs the actions taken in the digital and physical realms – making this the fourth principle. The last and the most important principle states that everyone is a part of the Information Warfare: “If you are online, your attention is like a piece of contested territory.”
To put things in a perspective of the region one does not need to refer to the history but rather the recent happenings. India has been against the China- Pakistan Economic Corridor since the start of the flagship project. India launched an offensive information operation (Offensive IO) to derail and delay further development of the project; aiding it with the use of proxies such as BLA and physical attacks along with extensive use of social media (via new articles , reports etc). The attempt was to spread enough disinformation, create confusion and mistrust between the governments that the locals would deem the project as an annexation of resources. A similar attempt on CPEC and China’s Belt and Road Project was also done by America through its think tanks and media. Another desperate attempt to gear opinion against CPEC happened a few days back when the details of CPEC’s Chairman’s assets abroad surfaced on the social media. The matter faded as quickly as it started but it goes to highlight the points mentioned before.
India’s information war against Pakistan had picked up pace when it could no longer push the threshold of conventional conflict. Although there have been attempts to push Pakistan into an actual and prolonged conflict, factors such as nuclear deterrence dissolve the prospects of a physical conflict. Kashmir remains another flashpoint of conflict between Pakistan and India. “The Symbolic Kashmir”, as Dr Rabia Akhtar wrote in one of her articles “is a place where larger national and sub-national identities are ranged against each other. The conflict in this Kashmir is as much a clash between identities, imagination, and history, as it is a conflict over territory, resources, and peoples.” It is here in Kashmir where India’s Information Warfare is at display. Tempering with the international status of Kashmir and the local demographics to maintain its illegitimate hold, it was the idea of a “symbolic Kashmir” India needed to gain control of. In response, Pakistan unveiled a new political map showing Occupied Jammu and Kashmir as a part of Pakistan. Such moves by governments or the military fall under the DoD’s textbook definition of Information Warfare.
But this is for certain. Information Warfare is the future of conflicts in the challenging environment of the region. With conventional methods of wars becoming a tried and tested method; Information Warfare is likely to gain momentum. As India invests extensively in this craft of warfare, Pakistan not only needs to catch up but also implement a comprehensive defensive information operation (defensive IO) to guard its national narrative. Only then can Pakistan achieve an upper hand against India on all fronts.
Aisha Saeed is an independent analyst on media and foreign policy of Pakistan. She tweets @MsAishaK.
