What is Key Terrain? Rethinking a Fundamental Military Concept in the Age of Economic Warfare
Benjamin Backsmeier | 08.25.25
What is Key Terrain? Rethinking a Fundamental Military Concept in the Age of Economic Warfare
In an era where economic linkages are global and dense, strategic competition increasingly unfolds in the networks of supply chains, finance, and data rather than purely on physical battlefields. US military doctrine has long emphasized key terrain—ranging from hilltops or river crossings at the tactical level to major features whose control carries operational or even strategic implications such as the Bashi Channel, Fulda Gap, or Strait of Hormuz. But today’s most consequential terrain may be nonphysical: manufacturing dominance in key sectors like semiconductors, assured access to minerals like rare earth elements, control over natural gas infrastructure, or the security of undersea cables. These systems, once considered logistical backdrops, are now central instruments of national power.
As Henry Farrell and Abraham Newman have described with their theory of “weaponized interdependence,” states can increasingly use control over nodes in global networks to extract coercive leverage, shape rival behavior, and compromise operational readiness. For military professionals, recognizing these dependencies as strategic terrain beyond the traditional DIME (diplomacy, information, military, economics) framework is critical to effective planning.
China’s dominance in the rare earth market offers a textbook example of weaponized interdependence. By controlling more than 85 percent of heavy rare earth processing and nearly 70 percent of global mining output as of 2024, China occupies a central node in the defense-industrial value chain. Rare earths are indispensable in night vision goggles, precision-guided munitions, missile guidance systems, and electric propulsion, placing downstream US defense manufacturers at risk.
https://mwi.westpoint.edu/what-is-key-terrain-rethinking-a-fundamental-military-concept-in-the-age-of-economic-warfare/
