The Cognitive Crucible is a forum that presents different perspectives and emerging thought leadership related to the information environment. The opinions expressed by guests are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of or endorsement by the Information Professionals Association. During this episode, Bob Jones returns to the Cognitive Crucible to discuss strategic influence and how the United States is at a crossroads. Additionally, we revisit Bob’s previous Cognitive Crucible appearance and discuss the importance of governance and taking other people’s perspectives. Research Question: Bob Jones suggests as interested student examine:  Is political conflict internal to a single system inherently different than political conflict between two or more systems; and if so, how, why and so what? How is the modern Chinese effort to expand their sovereignty to match their expanded power distinct from, or similar to, the US efforts to do the same in the 1890 to 1914 timeframe? If one expands the definition of unconventional warfare (UW) to the leveraging of foreign political grievances to advance or secure one’s interests, do al Qaeda and ISIS conduct UW? Does the presence of absence of violence lend strategic insight to the nature of a political competition/conflict? If one accepts that AQ and ISIS wage UW campaigns, how does one best disrupt, defeat, or render irrelevant their efforts? Is counterinsurgency best thought of as a purely domestic, civilian-led activity; where, as in all domestic emergencies, the military is always in support, last in and first out? It has been offered that internal, revolutionary insurgency differs from democracy only in legality; and that causation is rooted in how some distinct demographic feels about the governance affecting their lives.  How does this perspective affect counterinsurgency operations? Resources: Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned #56 Bob Jones on Governance Emerging Strategic & Geopolitical Challenges: Operational Implications for US Combatant Commands (Volume III) U.S. Command Perspectives on Campaigning in Support of Integrated Deterrence (Volume IV) Casebooks on insurgency On Guerrilla Warfare by Mao Tse-tung Counterinsurgency Warfare: Theory and Practice by David Galula Fighting Talk: Forty Maxims on War, Peace, and Strategy by Colin Gray The Ugly American by William J. Lederer and Eugene Burdick The Summer of 1787: The Men Who Invented The Constitution by David O. Stewart Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation by Joseph J. Ellis How to Think Like Einstein: Simple Ways to Break the Rules and Discover Your Hidden Genius by Scott Thorpe The Age of the Unthinkable:  Why the New World Disorder Constantly Surprises Us and What We Can Do About It by Joshua Cooper Ramo Guns, Germs, and Steele: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond Ph.D. The Art of War by Sun Tzu Link to full show notes and resources https://information-professionals.org/episode/cognitive-crucible-episode-176 Guest Bio:  Mr. Robert Jones is a retired U.S. Army Special Forces Colonel; a former Deputy District Attorney; a Fellow with the Center for Advanced Defense Studies (C4ADS), and the Senior Strategist at U.S. Special Operations Command.  Currently serving as a member of the SOCOM J5 Donovan Group, Mr. Jones is responsible for leading innovative thinking on the strategic environment and understanding how it impacts factors critical to national security, such as competition, the character of conflict, deterrence and societal stability. Mr. Robert Jones is a retired U.S. Army Special Forces Colonel; a former Deputy District Attorney; and the Senior Strategist at U.S. Special Operations Command.  Currently serving as a member of the SOCOM J5 Donovan Group, Mr. Jones is responsible for leading innovative thinking on the strategic environment and understanding how it impacts factors critical to national security, such as competition,