America's Information Edge

Abstract

Knowledge, more than ever before, is power. The one country that can best lead the information revolution will be more powerful than any other. For the foreseeable future, that country is the United States. Amer ica has apparent strength in military power and economic production. Yet its more subtle comparative advantage is its ability to collect, process, act upon, and disseminate information, an edge that will almost certainly grow over the next decade. This advantage stems from Cold War invest ments and America s open society, thanks to which it dominates impor tant communications and information processing technologies?space based surveillance, direct broadcasting, high-speed computers?and has an unparalleled ability to integrate complex information systems. This information advantage can help deter or defeat traditional military threats at relatively low cost. In a world in which the mean ing of containment, the nuclear umbrella, and conventional deterrence have changed, the information advantage can strengthen the intellec tual link between U. S. foreign policy and military power and offer new ways of maintaining leadership in alliances and ad hoc coalitions. The information edge is equally important as a force multiplier of American diplomacy, including soft power?the attraction of American democracy and free markets.1 The United States can use its