by Eliot Higgins “The blank zones are shrinking.” No military surveillance system can even approach the coverage of citizens on the internet. We Are Bellingcat provides an overview of the tools and techniques a group of regular people used to uncover the truth behind serious incidents ranging from chemical bombings in Syria to the poisoning … Continue reading We Are Bellingcat: Global Crime, Online Sleuths, and the Bold Future of News

by Cathy Park Hong When white people think of racism and discrimination, we often think first of the challenges African-Americans and Hispanics face in the United States and abroad. In many common narratives, Asians occupy a privileged position as a “model minority,” viewed as hard-working, intelligent, and sometimes even more advantaged than the average white … Continue reading Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning

by Isabel Wilkerson “If people were given the choice between democracy and whiteness, how many would choose whiteness?” Some of the rioters who violated the Capitol on January 6th with the aim of stalling or overturning an election carried confederate flags. Some were members of white nationalist groups. Some were active duty military troops. This … Continue reading Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents

by Richard Stengel. “The power to inspire was once America’s greatest asset.” I’ve heard various leaders from Secretary Mattis to professors at West Point describe the importance of America’s ability to inspire. In this book, Richard Stengel attributes the quote to a foreign ambassador, but the key point is the tense – “was.” In Information … Continue reading Information Wars: How We Lost the Global Battle Against Disinformation

By Thomas Kent Russian leaders know they will not win a conventional military conflict with the United States. They also know they don’t have to. Despite America’s advantages in alliances, advanced weaponry, and manufacturing capability, Russia has trained to fight in the information space and honed their skills to the point that in any conflict … Continue reading Striking Back: Overt and Covert Options to Combat Russian Disinformation

By Jonathan Haidt Although this book makes a detailed argument for why conservatives and liberals think the way they do and is particularly appropriate for study during an election year, the basic tenets of Haidt’s theories are applicable to how any group of humans form their moral codes and preferences. This is particularly relevant to … Continue reading The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics

Fiona Hill and Clifford G. Gaddy Intelligence analysts tend to focus on Russia’s weaponry, information operations doctrine, and recent tactics in the Ukraine, but few study the individual responsible for linking these activities together and driving Russia’s future – Vladmir Putin. In Mr. Putin, Ms. Hill and Mr. Gaddy explore the formative events of Putin’s … Continue reading Mr. Putin: Operative in the Kremlin

by Dr. Keren Yarhi-Milo Intelligence drives operations. Or at least that is what Army doctrine teaches and intelligence professionals believe and repeat. Keren Yarhi-Milo’s thesis of “Selective Attention,” however, argues that the organizational expertise of the IC is less influential than decision makers’ own personal perceptions and theories when predicting an adversary’s intentions. She examines … Continue reading Knowing the Adversary: Leaders, Intelligence, and Assessment of Intentions in International Relations

by P.W. Singer and Emerson T. Brooking The next war will not be fought on a conventional battlefield but in the information and cognitive space. In this “LikeWar” power is not measured by physical strength or high-tech hardware but by command of attention and perception. Winning this type of war requires master of the following … Continue reading LikeWar: The Weaponization of Social Media

by Warren Berger “A beautiful question is an ambitious yet achievable question that can begin to shift the way we perceive or think about something and that might serve as a catalyst to bring about change.” This is a great book for the military because we often fall in on the same mission statement, the … Continue reading A More Beautiful Question: The Power of Inquiry to Spark Breakthrough Ideas