How Should Nations Weigh Their Military, Diplomatic, and Economic Power?

Global power struggles are more than just who wields more military might. Diplomacy, economics, and information warfare all play a role. But how do you quantify a nation or non-state actor’s strength in those areas?

➡️ What’s new:

• University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) Nebraska Deterrence Lab (NDL) is leading a study to quantify how nations wield power through diplomacy, information, military, and economic influence.

• Supported by a 3-year, $600,000 grant from the Air Force Office of Strategic Research, a multidisciplinary team, led by Associate Professor Michelle Black, Ph.D., in the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), will develop a first-of-its-kind framework to assign measurable values to these instruments of power, helping policymakers and defense leaders make more informed decisions.

• Assistant Professor and NDL co-director Deanna House, Ph.D., will serve as co-principal investigator and Assistant Professor Fabio Vitor, Ph.D. will serve as key personnel on the project.

💡 Why it matters: With global tensions rising, understanding how nations use power effectively is more critical than ever. This research aims to help U.S. defense and government agencies make more informed decisions in international security, deterrence, and conflict resolution.

🔎 Zoom in:

• UNO’s interdisciplinary team spans political science, cybersecurity, mathematics, and economics, making this one of the most comprehensive studies of its kind.

• The research will expand on existing deterrence models and introduce a new quantitative weighting system for decision-makers.

• Student researchers from the NDL will play a key role, gaining hands-on experience in national security research.

🎤 What they’re saying: “Right now, defense organizations are facing complex challenges, and they need innovative, research-backed solutions,” Black said. “At UNO, we’re leading that charge by combining political science, cybersecurity, and data science to build smarter strategies for deterrence and defense.”

🌎 The big picture: This project aligns with UNO’s mission to drive pragmatic and impactful research that serves national security interests while providing experiential learning opportunities for students.

⚡️ What’s next: The team will host workshops, collect data, and develop a tested, validated framework over the next three years. The findings will be published and shared with defense agencies, policymakers, and academic institutions.

🧑‍💻 Read more: Black and House are currently partnering with NATO to help run a series of space deterrence wargames. The goal of the project is to develop and test a deterrence framework to anticipate and address future security challenges. The first wargame took place in the Netherlands April and May 2024.