Success in future warfare is more likely to be the result of the successful coordination of all the tools available to governments than of battlefield victories. In fact, this has always been the case. In the context of contemporary operations there is an increased requirement to effectively coordinate all the elements of national power and to achieve at least a working relationship with the many international and non-state actors in conflict. Today there are a wider variety of actors with a stake in conflict (and humanitarian assistance, development and disaster relief) than ever before. Strategic success will require more nuanced approaches to the orchestration of non-military effects and will require leaders – both civilian and military – who must be comfortable with the fact that they cannot command all of the tools available, but must seek to influence others to achieve their objectives. This characteristic has always been a requirement of great civilian statesmen—such as Lincoln, Churchill and Roosevelt. In multi-dimensional civil–military operations, military and civilian leaders interact at the strategic, operational and tactical levels simultaneously. At the same time they must learn to integrate their efforts with often fundamentally different organizations and cultures if they are to achieve their objectives.

Defense planning cannot take place in a vacuum, and states need to adopt enhanced arrangements for multi-agency coordination and cooperation.