The Comprehensive Approach as a Strategic Design to Run the Military-Industrial Complex in Operations

摘要

How to steer military actions that are concurrent both in the real world and in virtual networks? After the great wars of the 20th century and the Cold War with the threat of nuclear warfare, the information revolution, as well as the emergence of new wars and global threats, has led to an increasingly complex security space of the 21st century. A corner of this space is occupied by private military and security contractors that have been introduced to the wide public as previously undetected actors operating in conflict zones. These developments have required the re-thinking of military organisation, planning and conduct. This article scrutinises the basic principle and key concepts of a new western politico-strategic level military planning model called the Comprehensive Approach. It is a Wikileaks type of open door policy: everyone operating in the same real space can participate in the shared virtual planning space. The model's usability in the new military atmosphere is under theoretical scrutiny. Challenges that the open planning creates to the military organisation are highlighted.