Aisha Saeed
“War is the continuation of policies through other means” – Clausewitz.
The world witnessed a great shift in conflict and patterns of statecraft in the post-World War-II period, primarily due to the advent of nuclear weapons, rapid advancement, the spread of information technologies, and the effects of globalization. The 21st Century ushered a dilution of the state’s authority and the advent of geo-economics. Resultantly, war has become expensive, difficult to endure, potentially too damaging, and (or) unlimited. The quest for success has reshaped the notion of victory which has paved way for the application of the non-kinetic dimensions of warcraft i.e. Information, Diplomacy, and Economics. Operation Desert Storm and Iraqi Freedom had successfully demonstrated the perks of “Revolution in Military Affairs” (RMA).
The shaping of the global perception and battlefield was carried out simultaneously through the media and long-range weapon systems of coalition forces. GWoT was countered with the 4th generation of warfare. The seemingly harmless media and social media were weaponized to spread the narrative, seek support and blur the minds of the target audience, which even scripted mass agitations like the Arab Spring. Later the Facebook/Cambridge Analytica crisis opened up the debate of data diversion and resurfacing of ‘political warfare’ that became indicative of the emerging trends in warfare.
The traditional battlespace is fast overlapping with the non-battlespace like technological (cyber and electromagnetic space), social (politics, economics, and culture), and cognitive space of the human mind. Significant reduction in physical contact between adversarial forces has forced militaries to re-access the strategy and generation of warfare to create the enabling environment and desired effects.
Coined by a Russian military analyst, non-contact warfare employs all elements of national power across the full spectrum to target the enemy’s population, economy, command, and control hierarchy through non and kinetic means with a view to paralyze or denude its response capabilities and enable winning without fighting. Being an embryonic concept, it has been termed as non-kinetic warfare, 6th Generation, non-linear warfare, full-spectrum dominance, and unrestricted warfare but the fundamental impression remains indistinguishable- that is the stretch of means to cause maximum damage at all fronts.
Since the non-contact threats can be targeted across all the domains, the response has to be equally broad in all domains i.e. ideological, Institutional, Social, Political, Diplomatic, Information, Economic, and Legal. The strategic response lies in the institutional domain and putting in place institutional mechanisms that could prove to be the primary driver of change for a Comprehensive National Security. This would lead to better governance and inter-agency relations, improved bureaucratic capacity, better policymaking, efficient implementation, reduced corruption, respect for individual and property rights, improved law and order, and state credibility.
This calls for the preparation of an all-inclusive National Security Policy. The government should take responsibility to formulate the executive nature of National Security Policy against the non-contact threats in multiple domains. Policy documents should be passed from the parliament and have a national consensus. It should be reviewed biennially for necessary changes and implementation should be ensured by the Prime Minister himself.
To further thwart the attempts of non-contact warfare tactics, the role of think tanks, strategic practitioners, and intelligentsia should be institutionalized for an incessant and in-depth review of the comprehensive national security situation. The Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Defence, Finance, and Interior must work in the league to synergize national response in the non-contact domains.
With the enhanced battlespace scenario, it is prudent that armed forces undertake structural reforms and work out doctrines to deal with the threats across non-traditional fronts too. The forces will need to have cross-domain knowledge to tackle threats emanating from different quarters. It should also look at the cross-pollination of experts from civilian fields to instill capacity.
Pakistan needs a comprehensive Information Policy involving cooperation and synergy amongst all stake-holders (Public and Private). Cyber, media, intelligence, IT, academia, and diplomatic quarters need to be harmonized. It will enable the projection of counter-narratives in social media domains. An effective Cyber Security Unit needs to be created on a priority basis as a nucleus for the exploitation of information and cyber domain. Skillful exploitation of the weaknesses and fault lines of adversarial states should be carried out, to put them into a reactive mode. Data sovereignty and protection will enable the citizens to have faith in the governance system.
In synergy with information, technology is incessantly and rapidly advancing. At the national level, we need to develop critical technologies to prevent foreign powers from interfering with our security. To keep pace with the rapidly evolving technologies; protecting critical infrastructure and dealing with regulatory and legal challenges, mitigation measures shall form part of the national policy. Necessary legislation should be considered to enable the progressive evolution of these new technologies based on security and economic considerations.
Human Security remains to be of paramount importance in non-contact warfare. The economy is the engine of growth and stability; hence strengthening of the economy should remain a foremost priority. Its stabilization will create positive effects in all other domains and mitigate threats to national security.
Improving governance will bring synergy in our efforts to curb non-contact applications against the country and this can be achieved by democratic institutions, built from the grassroots level. Alleviation of legitimate grievances from the deprived quarters of the society should be our national priority.
Non-contact warfare is an emerging threat being posed to the national security of Pakistan. It is multi-facet, multi-domain, and can only be countered with an extensive national approach that encompasses policy-making, advancement, and self-sufficiency in technology, restructuring of armed forces, and reforms to upgrade the entire system of governance. To minimize the implications of such emerging trends in conflict it is important to understand and incorporate unconventional warfare tactics such as non-contact warfare into the conventional and broader space of battle.
