Systems, Complexity & Networks in US Military Thought: A Brief History
“Systems, Complexity & Networks in US Military Thought: A Brief History“
Speaker: Lawson, S. (University of Utah)
Date: 26 March 2019
Speaker Session Preview
SMA hosted a speaker session presented by Dr. Sean Lawson (University of Utah) as a part of its SMA General Speaker Series. During his presentation, Dr. Lawson presented a brief history of the ways in which ideas from nonlinear science have impacted US military thinking, doctrine, and strategy, while focusing on the post-World War II time period. He also argued that understanding the US’s prior attempts is crucial to the US military’s current efforts so that more lessons can be learned from nonlinear science. Dr. Lawson also defined nonlinear science and stated that it has the following characteristics: a large number of interacting elements, positive and negative feedback, sensitivity to changes in initial conditions, path dependency, an emergent effect, self-organization, and unpredictability. He then highlighted the thinkings of influential military figures who applied non-linear science to look at national security issues and warfare. Arthur Cebrowski and Thomas Barnett were two of these military thinkers. Dr. Lawson also provided an assessment of prior attempts by the US military to learn lessons from nonlinear science and identified several areas in which nonlinear science could be applied in the future. To conclude, Dr. Lawson discussed the efforts that the US military has made over the past few years to study and learn more from nonlinear science and stressed that it is important that the military continues to do so.
Dr. Sean Lawson is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Utah. His research examines the relationships among science, technology, and national security, with a particular focus on the intersections of military and security thought with nonlinear science and information technology.
He is the author of Nonlinear Science and Warfare: Chaos, Complexity, and the United States Military in the Information Age, which explores the application of chaos theory, complexity theory, and network science in shaping theories of information-age warfare. Dr. Lawson also researches and writes about U.S. public policy debates on cybersecurity, cyber warfare, and privacy.
In addition to his academic work, he serves on the Academic Review Committee for the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE) International Conference on Cyber Conflict and has lectured in the NATO Centre of Excellence Defence Against Terrorism’s course “Operational Planning for Counterterrorism.”
Dr. Lawson holds a PhD in Science and Technology Studies from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, an MA in Arab Studies from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, and a BA in History from California State University, Stanislaus.
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