Linking Cyber Strategy with Grand Strategy: the Case of the United States

PUBLICATION TYPE
Journal article

Valentin Weber's article in The Journal of Cyber Policy argues that a link between U.S. cyber strategy and U.S. grand strategy is largely missing.

Even though US cyber strategy documents contain higher political goals, they do not meet other criteria that indicate links to a grand strategy, such as a unified list of geopolitical challenges, a balance of ends and means, the integration of military, economic and political means, and the provision of a strategic narrative. Thereby, the documents leave the articulation of grand strategy at the initial stages and do not develop it further. The lack of grand strategy in cyberspace is also visible in US tactical behaviour.

The three chosen case studies show that the various US military, economic and political actions taking place under the Obama administration were isolated from each other. Hence, they failed to create a combined impact greater than the sum of their separate effects. This study fills the demonstrated gap in US strategy and concludes by presenting a cyber strategy that is integrated into US grand strategy.