Strategic communications in the global security environment: StratCom’s shift of the balance of power

Abstract

The public-facing aspect of national defence communications is a lesser understood organizational function of militaries around the world. Though conventional propaganda and diplomacy efforts date back centuries, the modern approach to military Strategic Communications (StratCom) is a murky, fast-evolving discipline that is not well understood by the public. As such, the topic bears further examination due to its vital importance in achieving defensive and strategic military objectives. Through defining StratCom’s function and the contexts that led to its inception, this paper gives an overview of how StratCom has been useful for the U.S. and its Western allies in their navigation of a tense, nuclearized global security environment. Thereafter, through examining the new ways these strategies are employed in our hyper-connected world, this paper demonstrates that the West’s adversaries have leveraged StratCom to tip the scales of hard power in the contemporary hybrid war environment.