GRIPS: Five Pillars for Enduring National Strength
A Core Framework of Strategic Coherence
- In today’s world, power does not rest on weapons alone.
- To lead in an era of contested interdependence, nations must align strength across governance, resilience, innovation, perception, and security. That’s what the GRIPS framework makes possible.
- GRIPS is a strategic blueprint that helps leaders identify where their systems are fragile, fragmented, or falling behind—and where they can build lasting advantage.
Why GRIPS Matters
- Earlier frameworks like DIME (Diplomatic, Information, Military, Economic) assumed power could be projected from a stable, unrivaled core.
- But today’s power is multidomain, multidirectional, and continuously contested. It must be generated, aligned, and sustained across sectors—from AI labs to supply chains, regulatory agencies to alliances.
- GRIPS reframes the question from “What can we project?” to:
- “What do we need to build and align to compete?”
The Five Pillars of GRIPS
- → Inspire trust and enable national coherence
- Strategic capacity begins with legitimate, responsive, and capable institutions.
- Evaluate: public trust, rule of law, corruption control, policy coordination, regulatory credibility
- → Withstand shocks and sustain autonomy under pressure
- Enduring strength requires the ability to absorb disruption—economic, environmental, cyber, or coercive.
- Evaluate: supply chain depth, energy and food security, fiscal and industrial buffers, adaptive capacity
- → Drive frontier capabilities that shape the future
- Technological leadership is the decisive terrain of modern power.
- Evaluate: R&D investment, industrial agility, IP generation, talent pipelines, sovereign compute access
- → Earn legitimacy and align strategic narratives
- In a contested information environment, how others see you shapes what you can lead.
- Evaluate: alliance credibility, reputation, media trust, diplomatic signaling, value alignment
- → Deter threats and shape contested outcomes
- Security is no longer just deterrence—it’s coordination, integration, and cross-domain readiness.
- Evaluate: military posture, cyber and space capabilities, civil defense, alliance integration
GRIPS in Action
Each pillar is essential. But none is sufficient alone.
- Strong innovation without trusted governance breeds instability.
- Military power without narrative credibility weakens alliances.
- Perception leadership without resilience falters under pressure.
GRIPS exposes these gaps—and helps close them.
Part of the 360° Strategic Coherence Frameworks
GRIPS is not a standalone checklist. It is part of a unified approach:
- GRIPS – What must be built
- Together, they help nations and institutions think clearly, act coherently, and lead with confidence.
- Power today is not just about strength—it’s about systems that work together.
- GRIPS is where building that coherence begins.
From the Frontiers of Freedom Blog
Strategic Insights Through the GRIPS Lens
- Explore how the GRIPS framework reveals deeper patterns in power, posture, and perception around the world:
- Strategic clarity requires more than military and economic tools.
- This post introduces GRIPS as a modern alternative to DIME—showing how governance, resilience, innovation, perception, and security better capture today’s competitive realities.
- Each GRIPS pillar represents a distinct form of power.
- This deeper dive into GRIPS examines how states wield power institutionally, physically, technologically, perceptually, and militarily—and what it means for long-term advantage.
- How does France’s call for strategic autonomy hold up across GRIPS?
- Using GRIPS as an evaluative framework, this post analyzes Emmanuel Macron’s recent messaging on European defense and sovereignty.