A prerequisite to deterrence and compellence is crafting your message so that it will be understood by your target audience. This requires effective cross-cultural communication and a deep understanding of the target audience’s sociocultural worldview. How can the SOE develop the level of knowledge and proficiency necessary to understand sociocultural worldviews in depth? How do we ensure we have the cultural expertise for strategic influence? How do we understand target population motivations? How can you best measure SOF’s cross-cultural understanding engagement abilities? What motivations of the adversary can best be targeted for deterrence and/or compellence? How can SOF bring in allies and partners to better understand a target audience? How can the SOE better integrate with others to develop a clear vision for the desired ends of deterrence and compellence?
How do SOF achieve proficiency in both language and cultural awareness, and which is more important? How can USSOCOM better educate SOF commanders, staff, and operators to utilize social media to influence targeted populations?
- Jamison, Maj. Benjamin C., "The Counterforce Continuum and Tailored Targeting: A New Look at United States Nuclear Targeting Methods and Modern Deterrence," ACSC SANDS paper, 2022.