Strategic Intelligence for the Future 1

1 For a New Strategic and Competitive Intelligence

We are not only in a changing world; we find ourselves in a world where traditional structures are evolving, in which the power of the state and the relationship with its citizens is beginning to change. Technological breakthroughs are forcing us to rethink traditional models and ways of working. The digital revolution has opened up new, unexplored fields of activity, destroying our traditional notions of discipline demarcation, creating a hybridization of fields and its actors. The loss of cyberspace borders has led to a multipolarization of cultures, meaning that we need to start taking a particular interest in them in order to make sense of our present reality. The primacy of sovereign power has been conquered by the power of some companies and the public/private relations balance due to the mutual interest of both parties. Faced with the radical transformations in which we must take part, pragmatism and realism are essential in the reconstruction of our referents.

1.1. Our assessment

For 500 years, according to the analysis of British historian Paul Kennedy [KEN 10], the most powerful state was the one with the most significant coercive force at the local, regional or international level through military capability, economic leadership or the possession of essential natural resources. Today, we are experiencing a paradigm shift. Joseph Nye [NYE 04] announced in 1990 that power would no longer be based on force, but on the ...