Economic intelligence and national security

Abstract

“We must have information superiority: the capability to collect process and disseminate an uninterrupted flow of information while exploiting or denying an adversary's ability to do the same” (DoD, Joint Vision 2010). Since the end of the 1980s, the world economy has evolved, and there has been a rapid movement towards globalization. The end of the Cold War coincided with the end of “traditional” conflicts and a new dominant paradigm appeared. The terms of economic war and international competitiveness became inescapable issues dealt at the same moment by economists and the whole politico-administrative sphere. However, as Krugman (1996) noted this vision can turn out dangerous if it leans on erroneous diagnoses. Economic intelligence appears in this particular context. From a theoretical point of view, economic intelligence is presented in Michael Porter's works, for example in his article with V. E. Millar, “How information gives you competitive advantage”. Empirically, economic intelligence is not a new phenomenon. For example, it was practiced in the Middle Ages, when the Venetians passed information onto the Palace of the Doges through their ports and Mediterranean fleet during competition between the commercial cities of the North of Italy and Flanders.

Citation

Seiglie, C., Coissard, S. and Échinard, Y. (2008), "Economic intelligence and national security", Fontanel, J. and Chatterji, M. (Ed.) War, Peace and Security (Contributions to Conflict Management, Peace Economics and Development, Vol. 6), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 235-248. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1572-8323(08)06014-1