In this timely monograph, British authors Mr. Keir Giles and Dr. Steve
Tatham fuse key lessons from two disparate theaters to argue
persuasively for greater education of Army personnel in human terrain
disciplines. Dr. Tatham, an expert in strategic communications and
influence operations with extensive experience in Iraq and Afghanistan,
and Mr. Giles, a long-term scholar of Russian military and political
decisionmaking processes, both contribute a wealth of accessible
examples and anecdotes to argue their case for greater investment in
human domain skills, both as an insurance against future conflict and in
order to prevail in that conflict should it be joined. Drawing on a
range of sources across social science and linguistics, they make the
crucial point that both commanders and junior personnel must be not only
prepared but also educated to set aside their cultural, social, and even
linguistic preconceptions in order to accurately assess the options open
to an adversary.