Joint Force Quarterly
Abstract
Confronting the complexity of the future security environment requires new concepts to coordinate efforts for maximum effect. The 2022 National Defense Strategy appropriately identifies integrated deterrence as the centerpiece of these efforts but criticisms regarding its strategic application remain. While integrated deterrence is associated with one set of national security strategies, its points of emphasis will endure. This essay addresses current limitations of the concept by offering a tangible and theoretically grounded approach connecting the ends, ways, and means by which the Joint Force and interagency, in combination with US allies and partners, can enact integrated deterrence across the spectrum of competition. In doing so it moves integrated deterrence from a concept to a strategic theory. The “big idea” or “guiding policy” presented is the pursuit of US influence through the organizational logic of networks. The global security environment is characterized as a competitive space among multilayered networks of interaction whereby physical and informational elements shape the values and interests of global populations. Power plays out through the logic of network competition and cooperation across all instruments of national power. Integrated deterrence then becomes an application of network power through a combination of threats, capabilities, and assurances.
Recommended Citation
Robert S. Hinck, "Influence by Design: A Network Strategy for Integrated Deterrence," Joint Force Quarterly 119 (4th Quarter 2025), 4-13, https://digitalcommons.ndu.edu/joint-force-quarterly/vol119/iss4/3.
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