inklap

Transforming the Intelligence Cycle through Adapting to Complex Environments and the Operational Dynamics of Special Warfare

Emir Muhić · Applied Cybersecurity & Internet Governance · 2025

In today’s increasingly complex and dynamic international environment, intelligence services are confronted with the phenomenon often referred to as special warfare, understood here as the combination of kinetic and non-kinetic threats such as information manipulation, cyberattacks, political subversion, and the involvement of organised criminal groups. While similar multi-domain challenges have existed in earlier periods, including during the Cold War and the global war on terror – the speed, technological dimension, and volume of contemporary operations create qualitatively new pressures on intelligence structures. This paper, using a conceptual and comparative methodological approach, critically reviews the existing scholarship on the intelligence cycle and examines case-inspired dynamics of special warfare to assess whether a network-based model can more effectively reflect these demands. The analysis consolidates critiques of the traditional linear cycle, develops a model emphasising simultaneity, adaptability, and real-time cooperation between analysts, operators, and decision-makers, and identifies institutional and cultural challenges of implementation. The study does not c

📖 افتح في inklap 🔗 DOI 📮 اطلب بحثاً