Information Warfare: Forging Communication Strategies for 21st-Century Operational Environments

James Farwell's second major work on information warfare was written at the request of the Joint Special Operations University and is used in the curricula of US military educational institutions. Where Persuasion and Power examines the history and theory of strategic communication, Information Warfare provides a practical framework for designing and executing information operations in contemporary operational environments — covering targeting, message development, channel selection, and the integration of IO with kinetic operations.

The book is notable for its frank assessment of the structural failures in US government and military approaches to information warfare: the institutional resistance to treating IO as a primary rather than supporting activity, the chronic underfunding of strategic communication relative to kinetic capabilities, and the bureaucratic fragmentation that prevents effective coordination across agencies. Farwell's prescriptions are concrete and operationally grounded, making this one of the most practically useful works in the field for those advising military or government clients on information operations doctrine and capability development. Open access from the Marine Corps University Press.