Neosituationism

Georges-Yves Kervern envisioned Neosituationism as a philosophical interface between Cindynics and Sustainable Development. With the development of Relativized Cindynics and the formal consideration of conflicts, Cindynics have extended beyond the simple field of risks, and the extension of their scope to that of conflicts joins the transgression of the military domain by new strategic doctrines, such as Qiao and Wang's unrestricted warfare, or hybrid warfare, which dissolve the boundary between war and peace, and lead to informational warfare operations targeting populations.

The cindynic method enables strategic analysis and operational management of transformations, with the aim of reducing the vulnerability of a situation, or reducing the conflictuality of a set of relative situations – or spectrum of situations – where antagonistic transformation wills coexist. A set of relative spectrums, constituting a matrix, can be used to deal with situations where the dynamics of power perception play a critical role, for example during military coups or mobilizations. These three modeling kernels – situation, spectrum, matrix – are designed to be operated easily and transversely. But behind these models lies a strategic, action-oriented thinking : Neosituationism.

Axiologically, this thinking is underpinned by universal values : respect for life and the environment, and more broadly, for all the values embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This determines a vast field of intervention : conflict reduction, and prevention of risks threatening people, the environment and fundamental rights, particularly risks and threats generated by innovation and emerging uses, including in the informational or immaterial sphere.

Neosituationist ontology therefore considers the notions of danger and threat, stemming from human behavior, and constructs actionable models enabling the reduction of vulnerabilities and conflictualities. This approach is not quite prescriptive, as it merely offers actors tools enabling them to co-prescribe and co-operate transformations they consider appropriate.

Neosituationist epistemology is twice constructivist, since it is based on the construction of descriptions of social constructs, using the method of relativized conceptualization (MRC) designed by Mioara Mugur-Schächter. This method is phenomenological in the sense that it fundamentally takes into account the role of the observer in the description of a phenomenon, which has been decisive in the relativization of the notion of situation, and the construction of the notions of spectrum and matrix.

Neosituationist logic is a transversal logic, orthogonal to Cartesian approaches that split up interwoven problems. This is dictated by the complexity of real-life situations, where risks, conflicts and development issues are intertwined : this has led to the conception of modeling kernels as a common language enabling trans-disciplinary, trans-cultural and trans-sectoral actions, and thus greater operational efficiency in the face of complexity. However, actors can extend this language with MRC for better fitting to specific situations, which increases efficiency and avoids positivist stances.

Methodologically, the neosituationist approach is propensionist, since frequency-based approaches are unsuited to real-life situations : one example is the failure of macro-quantitative approaches used for coup forecasting. Moreover, the notion of propensity mastery is a pivotal concept in Cindynics, directly inspired by the linchpin concept of the Art of War.

Neosituationism ties the situationist notion of spectacle to the notion of spectrum, considered as what an actor perceives : other actors, intentions and power relations, i.e. a set of relative situations. The spectrum perceived by this actor-spectator turns into a spectacle as soon as this perception is targeted by a deception operation, and a set of spectrums perceived by different actors, i.e. a matrix, becomes a set of spectacles. A fundamental aim of neo-situationism is emancipation : by dismantling these spectacles, and deconstructing perception manipulations that use human brains as an informational battlefield.