Influence Operations: Historical and Contemporary Dimensions (Les Dimensions Historiques et Contemporaines des Operations d'Influence)

摘要

This report was written to support research by Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC) Toronto designed to enhance the ability of the Canadian Forces (CF) to plan, implement, and evaluate 'influence' campaigns in future expeditionary operations. It contributes to a one-year scoping study that is being conducted to better define the CF's requirements for further research in this area. The report is based on a review of relevant academic disciplines and provides a broad, representative coverage of the area of investigation by clarifying the range of influence activities and providing a classification scheme for those activities. Canadian approaches to influence operations in the last half of the 20th century and the early years of the 2lst are a particular focus of this work. Concluding material includes findings on multi-agency planning in the contemporary environment and suggestions for future research in the area of influence operations.