Balancing Act: Ethical and Legal Dilemmas of Behavioural Influencing in Military Operations

The military employment of information has a long history in influencing the outcome of war and conflict on the battlefield, be it by deceiving the opponent, maintaining troop confidence, or shaping public opinion. Recent technological advances have been a driving force in enhancing the possibilities and scope for military operations in the information environment.

With that comes a renewed discussion on applicable ethical and legal frameworks in the information environment, but even more so, where the ethical and legal boundaries of those frameworks lie, and which dilemmas arise across those boundaries. The intent of this research is not to provide answers or solutions to existing ethical or legal dilemmas, but rather to facilitate the discussion on this topic and to highlight when, where, and why these dilemmas may occur.

Authors: Laura Jasper, Nathan Lokhorst and Michel Rademaker

The authors would like to thank Björn de Heer, Professor mr. dr. Lonneke Peperkamp, and Colonel mr. dr. Peter Pijpers for sharing their expertise and experience which have significantly contributed to the overall content and quality of this research paper. Evidently, the content of this paper is the sole responsibility of the authors.

This paper has been written as part of the project Platform Influencing Human Behaviour, commissioned by the Royal Netherlands Army. The aim of this platform is to build and share knowledge on information-based Behavioural Influencing (BI) in the military context, dissecting the ethical, legal and military-strategic issues and boundaries involved. Responsibility for the content rests solely with the authors and does not constitute, nor should it be construed as, an endorsement by the Royal Netherlands Army.

Cover image credit: Niklas Ohlrogge, Unsplash