Conveying the Complex: Updating U.S. Joint Systems Analysis Doctrine with Complexity Theory

摘要

Complexity theory is an interdisciplinary set of concepts and tools that has proved useful for many fields and there is potential benefit for the military as well. Six concepts from complex adaptive systems theory-fitness landscape, agent fitness, agent response profiles, building blocks, identity tags, and emergent phenomena-can improve social systems analysis in doctrinal operations processes. These in turn support four of the six commander activities-understand, visualize, describe, and assess-within U.S. Joint Force operations. The six concepts from complex adaptive system theory should be included with the existing general systems analytic methodology described in Joint Publication 2-01.3: Joint Intelligence Preparation of the Operational Environment, Chapter II, Section B, Part 12. This action is simply a start to updating Joint doctrine to account for complexity and this monograph recommends further research to identify and incorporate other tools from complexity theory for the U.S. Joint Force.