Guidance

Strategic communication: the defence contribution (JDN 1/12)

Explains what strategic communication is, how defence contributes, and how it should be conducted.

This publication was withdrawn on

JDN 2/19 Defence Strategic Communication: an Approach to Formulating and Executing Strategy supersedes JDN 1/12 with a view to evolving UK defence doctrine at the strategic level.

Documents

Details

Joint Doctrine Note 1/12 (JDN 1/12) Strategic Communication: The Defence Contribution is a revision of JDN 1/11, published under the same name in March 2011.

Designed to act as a starting point in defence’s effort to better understand the purpose and value of strategic communication, JDN 1/11 was acknowledged to have articulated the challenge but, was considered to be equivocal in what needed to be done about it; in particular chapter 3 held back from suggesting structures and processes that might be required to conduct effective strategic communication.

Since its publication, thinking around strategic communication has continued to evolve and some of the ideas initially proposed have been developed and adopted. As a result, DCDC revised JDN 1/11 and re-issued it as JDN 1/12, with a new chapter 3 titled ‘Conducting strategic communication’. Our aim is to capture the progress made thus far and to offer a clearer model for further development.

As with the previous publication, this JDN focuses on the MOD but recognises that strategic communication is a cross-government enterprise led, and directed, by the Cabinet and the National Security Council.

Published 1 January 2012