human terrain

Definitions

The social and cultural aspects of an operational environment, especially in a military context.

Examples

“2005 Montgomery McFate and Andrea Jackson, ""An Organizational Solution for DOD’s Cultural Knowledge Needs," Military Review⟳, July-August 2005. Purpose: augment the military’s ability to effectively plan⟳, train⟳, and operate⟳ in the complex human terrain of weak states by conducting unbiased, accurate field research⟳ in countries of interest⟳ and administering related programs.”

“The term “human terrain” encompasses a wide variety of concepts and meanings. It came into widespread use⟳ following the events of September 11th as a catch⟳ all phrase to describe⟳ the human dimension of the operational environment, including groups’ and individuals’ feelings and inclinations. However, as a stand⟳ alone term, human terrain has not been officially defined by the DoD [US Department of Defense]. Although its use⟳ is widely prevalent, human terrain is currently an imprecise term which is vague and nebulous.”

“This leads us to a definition of human terrain: Those cultural aspects of the battlespace that, due to their static nature, can be visually represented on a geographic map. Human terrain is static with respect⟳ to change⟳ over time; rigid with respect⟳ to fluid human relationships; and limited to representing behavior in only two dimensions.”

CEFR level