ABSTRACT
Great power competition is here to stay. Although this competition is between major powers, its primary manifestations will continue to occur in small countries of strategically important regions. While the United States remains focused on building a more lethal conventional force, its competitors, and especially Russia, have emphasized weaponizing information to achieve their desired end states without firing a shot. In this chapter, the authors analyze Russia’s new-generation warfare through its information operations and cyber activities within the Baltic states and some other examples. The authors conclude that the United States must rebalance between building a more lethal and ready kinetic force for armed conflict and developing a comprehensive strategy and effective “toolbox” for information operations and other non-kinetic forms of competition. The authors argue that failure to do so will lead to Russia achieving its strategic goals short of military confrontation.
