Education - DoD Information Strategy Research Center
Information Strategy and Political Warfare – 698 Curriculum
The objective of this curriculum is to educate military personnel and civilian officials of the United States and its Allies to better defend the nation and prevent, prepare for, and prevail in conflicts by operating effectively in the information environment.
The curriculum is designed for both the specialist who will be assigned to an information related position and the generalist who will be assigned to a command or staff billet. The curriculum includes a core of military art and operations, emerging security challenges, intelligence and network analyses, the psychological and social dimensions of war emphasizing information strategy, political warfare, military deception, defense support to public diplomacy analytical methods, and regional studies.
The list of classes below are an example of the course selections within the curriculum.
Course Examples
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DA 3105 – Conflict and Cyberspace This course examines how cyberspace, particularly the Internet, can serve as a tool of conflict in the hands of both state and non-state actors. Topics include: characteristics of cyberspace, technology trends, power in cyberspace, cyber-based information operations (IO), cyber surveillance, domestic and international laws governing cyber operations, cyber crime, cyber activism and hacktivism, cyber terrorism, cyber warfare, and cyber defense. |
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DA 3120 – Jihadi Information Operations This course traces the rise and evolution of the Jihadi movement since its birth in the 1960s; analyzes the symbols, discourses, and media Jihadist use in their own information operations, primarily vis-à-vis the larger Muslim community; and examines the impacts on and receptiveness of the broader Muslim community to these information operations. The focus of the course is on the transnational Jihadi movement, but some examples of local Jihadism will be discussed as well. |
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DA 3180 – Warfare in the Electromagnetic Spectrum: Principles and Applications Provides students an introduction to the electromagnetic spectrum (EMS) and how we operate and conduct warfare within it. Students will examine the principles and applications of the EMS and apply that knowledge in an operational context. The course integrates theory with practice through the examination of the theoretical principles that govern the EMS and their application to the modern battlefield. Students will incorporate this knowledge with an examination of mature electronic warfare (EW) capabilities used to secure friendly use of the EMS while affecting adversary use. Students will examine the advantages and capabilities of EW within strategic and operational contexts, and examine the effect of EW on the information environment. |
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This course focuses on dark networks-covert and illegal networks such as drug-trafficking and terror networks. The course's first objective is to teach students how to identify and describe these networks and their dynamics. We use various software packages (e.g. Inflow, e.g. Analyst Notebook) to aid in the identification and description effort. The second objective is to design intervention strategies to disrupt, destabilize and possibly destroy dark networks once they have been identified and described. Students are expected to focus their interventions at the tactical and operational levels, although some attention is given to the strategic and policy levels as well. |
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DA 3270 – Intelligence in the Information Age This course examines intelligence in light of the information revolution. It examines collection, analysis, covert action and counterintelligence. It also discusses the intelligence community and issues of coordinating the various intelligence activities of the U.S. government. A central purpose of the course is to increase understanding of the relationship between intelligence and information operations. |
Information Strategy Education at NPS
NPS provides graduate level education for military/government personal of the United States and other nations.
You'll find topics related to OIE across the schools and departments at NPS. A useful webpage is the Academics at NPS website.
- Most of the concentrated studies of OIE occur within the Graduate School of Operational & Information Sciences (GSOIS).
- Within this school, the Defense Analysis (DA) Department maintains a curriculum in Information Strategy and Political Warfare.
- Detailed information on this curriculum can be found at: https://www.nps.edu/Academics/GeneralCatalog/414.htm#o425
- Another department in GSOIS that specializes in OIE is the Information Sciences (IS) Department. Various IS curricula deal with elements of OIE.
- The IS curricula most focused on OIE are arguably Information Warfare (595), detailed information found at: https://www.nps.edu/Academics/GeneralCatalog/414.htm#o436 and
- Information Systems and Operations (356), detailed information found at: https://www.nps.edu/Academics/GeneralCatalog/414.htm#o432
- Other departments within GSOIS can also focus on information related capabilities (IRCs). Of particular note is the Cyber Academic Group.
- Within this school, the Defense Analysis (DA) Department maintains a curriculum in Information Strategy and Political Warfare.
- Likewise, other NPS schools and departments outside GSOIS also deal with elements of OIE. For example, within the Graduate School of Engineering & Applied Science there is the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
Essentially, where you find OIE at NPS depends upon what you are looking for. Whether you are a generalist interested in inform and influence activities, a specialist interested in the systems engineering behind technical capabilities, or a philosopher interested in the nature of information in warfare, you'll find it somewhere at NPS.
