Global Security and Intelligence Studies Volume 5, Number 1, Spring / Summer 2020 | Page 9

Editorial Welcome
Our fifth article, What’s Thinking Got To Do With It? The Challenge Of Evaluating
and Testing Critical Thinking In Potential Intelligence Analysts, challenges
intelligence practitioners and educators to consider the importance of critical
thinking as a means to combat operations present in the Psychological Domain.
Author Margaret S. Marangione reminds us that the best defense against weaponized
information is applied cognition. Dr. Marangione makes her argument
against the backdrop of critical thinking capabilities of younger generations and
job placement testing.
Our final article in the special edition is brought to us by Jim Burch. His article
Reflecting History: The Basis for Assessing the Future serves as a reminder that
despite advances in technology and strategic thought, the basics still matter. While
the intelligence community might currently prize analysts who have the ability to
code and run scripts, the basics of historical and cultural understandings cannot
be discarded. Dr. Burch notes how both historical and cultural understandings are
intertwined with approaches to the psychology of an intelligence target, thereby
broadening the basic skill set analysts need for success in an evolving environment.
We are also pleased to present a policy discussion from Jeremiah Deibler
titled Contesting the Psychological Domain During Great Power Competition. His
work highlights the need for a shift in strategic thinking to include the Psychological
Domain in operational planning and execution. Resources and personnel must
be dedicated to leveraging the benefits the Domain offers. His work makes the
astute observation that message-centric operations are weapons with the potential
to win conflict without the need for kinetics. However, the United States is in need
of a unified force and planning cycle that can effectively fight in the domain.
Lastly, the special edition was humbled to have the opportunity to sit with
Emmerson Brooking, Author of LikeWar, to discuss the evolution of warfare in
the face of social media and the Psychological Domain. We close this edition with
book reviews on three must have volumes for Intelligence practitioners. Austin
Gouldsmith reviews LikeWar: The Weaponization of Social Media, Messing with
the Enemy noting the dangers of social media and how it has been exploited for
the benefit of global revisionist powers. Sara Soffer offers her review of Surviving
in a Social Media World of Hackers, Terrorists, Russians, and Fake News continuing
the discussion on the perils of social media through the eyes of malicious actors.
Joel Wickwire offers his keen insight in reviewing The Conduct of Intelligence in
Democracies: Processes, Practices, Cultures, discussing the impact of intelligence
operations on the global stage.
I sincerely hope you enjoy this special edition of Global Security and Intelligence
Studies Journal. We set out to tackle a significant gap in both current academic
literature as well as in the practice of warfare. Through the efforts of numerous
talented individuals including authors, consultants, and subject matter experts
we have been able to definitively establish and define a new warfighting domain
ix