FULL-SPECTRUM WARFARE-FROM BROADENING THE INSTRUMENTS TO THINKING THE UNTHINKABLE-.

Abstract

Full-spectrum warfare has emerged as a new concept, occupying a space between hybrid, asymmetrical, and irregular warfare, although it is not fully aggregate in the epistemological realm. Present in several military strategies and documents from Australia, the USA, Russia, and China, it migrated into a family of concepts related to full-spectrum dominance, full-spectrum instruments or full-spectrum defence. The most important part of its content is linked to surprise and unexpected evolution as well as to creative and innovative elements in the family of thinking the unthinkable and unknown unknowns. We are conducting integrated research on the concept and establishing an operative definition based, also, on a number of concrete applications in the real operations developed by Israel, Ukraine, Russia, USA nowadays. The methodology used in this approach includes an epistemological debate and the identification of the unique features that gave broad spectrum warfare its specific and added value, as well as a full encyclopaedic debate on the significance of the concept in question.