Information sharing in multinational security and military operations. Why and why not? With whom and with whom not?

ABSTRACT

Military operations increasingly require cooperation between agencies within the same nation, but also collaboration with security and military organizations internationally. Throughout history multinational military cooperation has often been an appropriate way to conduct major operations; national manpower and material resources are generally insufficient to address the demands of missions worldwide. The desire to optimize the use of scarce research and development and investment capabilities, the need for international legitimacy and political support, and the fact that today’s risks transcend national borders, have rendered multinational cooperation in the security domain unavoidable. With joint operations comes the requirement for multi-partner- and multinational information sharing. However, information sharing has both advantages and costs, and is subject to both enabling factors as well as barriers. This paper reflects on theories, both classical and current, as well as empirical case studies, to examine the pros and cons of multinational information sharing, and the factors that conduce or interfere with the transmission and the receipt of intelligence. The importance of a holistic approach and of learning lessons learned are two key lessons gleaned from the analysis, along with an emphasis on developing both the organizational and the interpersonal enablers of information sharing.

KEYWORDS:

• Information sharing
• multinational cooperation
• multinational collaboration
• intelligence

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. Or the secrecy-related controlled leakage of specific information or fake-information.

2. Formally called The Technical Cooperation Panel (TTCP).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Joseph Soeters

Joseph Soeters is a part-time professor of Organization Studies. He is an emeritus professor of the Netherlands Defense Academy. He has published extensively about military cultures, effectiveness of military operations, research methods in military studies, diversity in the military and multinational military cooperation. His most recent publication is: Sociology and Military Studies; classical and current foundations (Routledge, 2018).

Irina Goldenberg

Irina Goldenberg is Section Head of Recruitment and Retention Research in Defence Research and Development Canada, managing the research program related to the recruitment and retention of Canadian Armed Forces personnel. In addition, she specializes in military-civilian personnel collaboration in defence organizations. She is an internationally known and respected researcher and plays an active role within many international organizations, including the European Research Group on Military and Society (ERGOMAS), where she serves as Secretary General.