From Jeannie L. Johnson and Matthew T. Berrett: Cultural Topography: A New Research Tool for Intelligence Analysis. Studies in Intelligence Vol. 55, No. 2, extracts, June 2011. https://cia.gov
Identity
•Is individual identity seen as comprising one’s distinct, unique self, or is it bound up in a larger group (family, clan, tribe)?
•Does this group see itself as responsible for and capable of solving social problems? Are problems responded to with energy or left to fate?
•Which myths and national narratives compose the stories everyone knows? How do these speak about group identity?
•What is this group’s origin story? Does it inform group members of their destiny?
•What would this group list as defining traits of its national, tribal, ethnic character?
•Is one aspect of identity being overplayed, not because it is foundational for most decisions but because it is being threatened or diminished?
Values
•For the linguist, which concepts/things are described in nuanced ways (meaning that many words have been assigned to them)? Which concepts are missing from the language? (For example, the concept of “fair play” is hard to find outside of English.)
•What generates hope in this population?
•Which is viewed more highly as a communicative tool—emotion or logic? Are conversational styles which emphasize logic viewed as trustworthy?
•Is conspicuous consumption valued as a status marker? If not, what incentives exist to work hard?
•To what extent do security concerns trump liberty concerns in this society? Which parts of liberty are deemed attractive?
•Is social mobility considered a good thing, or is it deemed disruptive to a highly organized system? Would this group fight to keep a hierarchical arrangement even if offered opportunities for egalitarianism?
•To what extent does loyalty trump economic advantage?
•Which is more value-laden for this group—“progress” or “tradition”?
•Is optimism rewarded as a character trait or is it considered naive, juvenile, and possibly dangerous?
•Which character qualities are consistently praised?
•What composes the “good life”?
•What sorts of myths, hero figures, segments of history, or identity markers does the material culture celebrate? What is revealed by the decorations in homes, modes of dress, food eaten (or not eaten), monuments respected (as opposed to those covered with graffiti), gifts given, etc.?
•In describing a proposed project, what will “impress” this audience? The project’s size? Its historical relevance? The technology used to produce it? How might new projects best be framed in order to win popular support?
NORMS
Political
•What is considered a legitimate pathway to power? How do “heroes” in film and other popular media obtain their power? Do they act as isolated individualists or in concert with others?
•“What gives a public the comfortable feeling that the way that decisions are reached and leaders are chosen is ‘right’?”
•How does the group view compromise?
•Where does “genuine” law come from? (Nature? God? A constitution? Current political institutions? Imagined, future institutions? Moral conscience? A personality from the past?)
•Is adherence to state-manufactured law admired or disdained? To what extent is state law equated with “right” and “wrong”?
Social
•Is social status in this society primarily ascribed (i.e., one is born into it) or achieved? If achieved, how so?
•What are the primary markers of a person of high rank in this society? How would you recognize him/her? Does political power or intellectual prestige rank higher than economic surplus?
•What is the process for establishing trust? How does one know when it has been achieved?
•Do people perceive their own place and the dominant hierarchy as natural?
•To what extent are subordinates responsible for their own actions?
•What do proverbs say about social expectations and the perceived pathway to success?
Economic
•What are the group’s views on work? Which types are admired? Which are disdained? What are the economic implications?
•Which economic activities are considered immoral?
•Is it considered appropriate to “master” the natural environment and bend it to one’s will?
•To what extent is the economy intertwined with kin obligations?
•What are obstacles to private property ownership?
•How does this culture group stack up when evaluated against the traits some claim are necessary for successful market economies? These can include:
- •Is there trust in the individual?
- •Are wealth and resources perceived as finite or infinite? Is the focus on “what exists” or “what does not yet exist”?
- •Is competition seen as healthy or unacceptably aggressive?
- •Is this society comfortable with a questioning mind?
- •Does the education system encourage investigative learning?
- •Are the “lesser virtues”—punctuality, job performance, tidiness, courtesy, efficiency – admired?
- •Which are emphasized—small achievements accomplished by the end of the day (preferable for market economies) or grandiose projects (the unfinished megaworks of progressresistant economies)?
•What are prestige commodities within this community? Why? Might these serve as stronger incentives for cooperation than direct funding?
•Is risk taking admired or negatively sanctioned? How widely spread is the “harm” of individual failure (damages family honor, potentially ignites retribution cycle, etc.)?
Security
•What defines “victory” for this group in a kinetic conflict?
•What types of battlefield behavior would result in shame?
•What level of internal destruction is acceptable?
•How do accepted myths describe this group’s military history? What is its projected destiny?
•Are allies viewed as reliable, or historically treacherous? What is the resultant ethic regarding alliance loyalties?
Time/Change Orientation
•Does this group behave according to linear time? Is there a marked contrast between rural and urban regions? Do deadlines matter?
•What is the future orientation of this group? Does it see itself as capable of changing the near future? Is it deemed appropriate or laudable to make aggressive efforts to do so?
•Which time frames are referenced with strong positive emotion—past or future scenarios?
•Is there a significant gap between socioeconomic expectations and reality? (This often is a precursor of social shifts.)
Problem-Solving Devices
•What is the order of activities for solving a social problem (often called an action chain)? Does face-to-face confrontation happen first or last? Is violence used as a signal or is it an endgame?
•How do those outside of official channels of activity (i.e. women in seclusion, youth in elder-oriented cultures) play a part in problem-solving processes?
•Which is preferred—action or deep deliberation? Is this group comfortable with trial and error as a discovery method?
•Are individuals comfortable with making a wide range of personal choices? Are individual choice and accountability practiced social norms? Would the choices present in democratic and market systems be overwhelming?
•To what extent must community consensus be reached in order for a decision to go forward?
PERCEPTIVE LENS
Cognitive processes
•What sources of information yield ‘truth’? Scientific/factual processes? Dreams? Inspired authority figures?
•Are most situations set into dichotomous frames? Are they made to be black and white? How comfortable are group members with situational complexity? How patient are they in working to understand it?
Of Self
•What are the basic expectations about the future? (“Poverty becomes a greater problem the moment wealth is perceived as a definite possibility.”) How might typical aspirations within this society be charted?
•How does this group characterize/perceive its own history? Which events are highlighted? Which are omitted?
•What does this group’s history tell it about “dangerous” behaviors/circumstances for a society? (For example, Chinese—chaos, Americans—tyranny).
Of Others Generally
•How do members of this group assign intentions? What motives make the most sense to them? (If the best US intentions do not “make sense” to the host population, they will assign intentions that do. It is to our advantage to understand and then emphasize areas of cognitive congruence when embarking on joint ventures.)
•What is this group’s view on human nature? Are people generally trustworthy? Are they prone to excess and beset by vices, or are they able to regulate themselves? How are these views used for legitimating less or more government?
•How does this group obtain its information about the outside world? Which sources are considered most reliable? How are those sources biased or deficient?
•Are outsiders perceived as fundamentally different or fairly similar to group members?
Of the US Specifically
•What are regarded by this group as US vulnerabilities?
•What does this group believe drives Americans? What do they value?
•Does this group see common ground with its American counterparts? In which areas?
•To what extent does this group believe American rhetoric matches intentions?
Cosmology (The way the world works...origin and structure of the universe)
•When explanations for events are not easily accessible, how does this group fill in the blanks?
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