A Framework for the Weapons of Influence

The development of communications technology has enabled the internet to become a new theatre of military operations. The influence aspects of military operations in information battlespace, however, are difficult both in theory and in practice, especially concerning international law. As a result, there is a variety of national and organizational solutions of how to divide tasks and responsibilities between authorities. This asymmetry generated by different approaches and rules of conduct provides opportunities for actors with more relaxed interpretation of international law, allowing them to use weapons of influence in order to pursue military goals. In this article the authors ask whether military influence operations, just like cyber operations, could be treated as acts of war. To help militaries address the complex issue of influence operations, a framework consisting of three categories is suggested.