GeoDigital Strategy: A fictional subfield of geopolitics. Foreign policy guided by factors that are unique or significantly magnified in the digital environment. The geopolitical application of Metcalfe’s, Moore’s and Zipf’s Laws.
The evolution of globalization and information technology facilitates the ability to share information instantaneously around the globe in multiple forms. These messages frequently become memes that individuals identify with (note the recent criminal act in New Zealand). The power of information to shape the geopolitical space is profound. The 2014 Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) states “the rapidly accelerating spread of information is challenging the ability of some governments to control their populations and maintain civil order, while at the same time changing how wars are fought and aiding groups in mobilizing and organizing. It is this globalization of information that blurs the distinction between local and global affairs in the social, political, and economic spheres. Metcalfe’s Law indicates this geodigital space will increase in significance exponentially.

I think we have a fair understanding of how violent extremists leverage the digital environment to pursue their ends, which includes expanding their operational reach globally, or at least to the connected the portions of the world. We have only recently begun to appreciate how state actors compete in the geodigital domain. It is Net warfare in the 21st Century, but in traditional parlance, it is political warfare with new means (weaponizing the digital space).

The digital domain enables more than information/influence dominance, it will enable economic dominance, and perhaps security dominance. Collectively this unfortunate, because it has so much promise to change the world for the better. Norming the use of the digital domain globally is desirable, but I question if it is possible?