“Building a Global Civil-Military Network”
Last year’s discussion revealed an opportunity for the Civil Affairs Corps to shape its future by helping the Army and joint force shape theirs by helping them “understand what competition truly is and show the available tools and how CA participates in competition,” 2021 Roundtable keynote speaker Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Eric J. Wesley urged.
As a diverse and people-centric force for influence, collaboration, and competition in Multi-Domain and Joint All-Domain Operations and information and irregular warfare, CA can engender a collaborative, global civil-military network – starting with CA itself – that leverages the comparative advantages of all partners to generate outcomes none produce alone. 2020 Symposium keynote Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Charles Hooper noted how “warrior-diplomats” uniquely “strengthen alliances and attract new partners.”
As a green force that operates in gray zones, how should civil affairs (and the Army) understand “competition?” How would a global civil-military network be a geostrategic game-changer in the struggle with authoritarian powers for global dominance? What should it look like and be its collaborative frameworks, tools, and civil knowledge, convening, and information-sharing architectures – institutionally as well as operationally? How can CA leverage technology, such as artificial intelligence and machine-learning or other automated systems and methods? To address these questions, the Civil Affairs Association and its partners invite civil-military professionals to send originally written issue papers in accordance with the Civil Affairs Issue Paper Guidelines. The submission deadline is Friday, 3 September 2021.
The top five papers will appear in the 2021-22 Civil Affairs Issue Papers and authors will present them virtually at the CA Symposium this fall. The top three, as determined by Symposium participant vote, will receive cash awards of: 1st prize, $1,000; 2nd prize, $500; and 3rd prize, $250. Selection is based on: quality of response to the call for papers; relevance and originality; discussion clarity and sourcing of argument; and strategic impact and feasibility of recommendations.
Papers prepared jointly by civilian and military professionals across disciplines are most
welcome.
For more, download the full call for papers here.
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