#113 Jeff Engstrom on Chinese Systems Warfare

The Cognitive Crucible

The Cognitive Crucible is a forum that presents different perspectives and emerging thought leadership related to the information environment. The opinions expressed by guests are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of or endorsement by the Information Professionals Association.

During this episode, Jeff Engstrom discusses in detail how the Chinese People's Liberation Army seeks to wage modern warfare. China favors a system of systems approach to warfare. They recognize that war is no longer a contest between particular units, arms, services, or even specific weapons platforms of competing adversaries, but rather a contest among numerous adversarial operational systems. Systems confrontation is waged not only in the traditional physical domains of land, sea, and air, but also in outer space, nonphysical cyberspace, electromagnetic, and even psychological domains.

Research Question: Jeff believes that students should help assess the lessons which the PLA is learning from Ukraine and elsewhere, and how these lessons are shaping China’s understanding of systems and systems warfare.

Resources:

• Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
• • #79 Mulvaney on China In Their Own Words
• Jeffrey Engstrom bio
• RAND Report: Systems Confrontation and System Destruction Warfare: How the Chinese People's Liberation Army Seeks to Wage Modern Warfare
• Col John A. Warden III
• Warden's Five Rings
• PRC Defense White Papers
• • 2015: China’s Military Strategy
  • 2019: China’s National Defense in the New Era
• China Aerospace Studies Institute
• • Science of Strategy (2020 ed.)
  • Science of Strategy (2013 ed.)
  • Science of Campaigns (2006 ed.)

• IPA Seeks Authors and Cognitive Security Thought Leaders

Link to full show notes and resources

https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-113

Guest Bio:

Jeffrey Engstrom is a senior political scientist at the RAND Corporation. His research focuses on Asia-Pacific security and foreign policy issues; China’s warfighting concepts and capabilities; coercion theory and use of coercive military force; and military intervention and security cooperation.

Before joining RAND, Engstrom was a defense policy analyst at Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) in McLean, Virginia, where, in addition to researching East Asian military capabilities, he also developed expertise in war gaming. Prior to his work at SAIC, Engstrom served as a Peace Corps Volunteer.

Engstrom received his B.A. in political science and international studies from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, a M.P.P. from the University of Chicago, and a Ph.D. in public policy from George Mason University.

About: The Information Professionals Association (IPA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to exploring the role of information activities, such as influence and cognitive security, within the national security sector and helping to bridge the divide between operations and research. Its goal is to increase interdisciplinary collaboration between scholars and practitioners and policymakers with an interest in this domain.

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