GRIPS: A Framework for National Strength in a Fragmented World

What gives nations strategic advantage in today’s world?

In a past era, military dominance and diplomatic stature were enough. Today, power flows through far more channels: semiconductors and energy markets, digital platforms and data rules, innovation ecosystems and institutional trust.

To assess whether a nation is truly competitive—whether it can deter threats, attract partners, and shape global outcomes—we need a new lens. That’s what GRIPS provides.

GRIPS is the first in a trilogy of tools I developed to help leaders achieve strategic coherence in a fragmented world. Together with PIVOT, which diagnoses institutional posture, and ALIGN, which ensures strategy translates into execution, these frameworks form the 360° Strategic Coherence Frameworks. GRIPS sets the priorities. PIVOT shows how institutions are positioned. ALIGN ensures systems work together under stress.

A Strategic Framework for All Nations

GRIPS is a five-part framework for evaluating national strength:

• Governance
• Resilience
• Innovation
• Perception
• Security

It can be applied to any country—whether democratic or authoritarian, large or small, developed or emerging. GRIPS doesn’t prescribe values. It measures how effectively a nation builds and aligns its sources of power to achieve strategic outcomes.

China and the U.S. may pursue different models—but both must govern, secure resources, drive innovation, manage perception, and maintain security.

So must India, Brazil, Germany, Turkey, Indonesia, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, and others.

Each does so differently. GRIPS helps us understand how—and how well.

Why GRIPS? Why Now?

Earlier frameworks—like DIME (Diplomatic, Information, Military, Economic)—focused on how nations project power, assuming the foundations were secure.

That made sense when the U.S. stood alone as a global superpower.

But in today’s multipolar, multidomain world, the key question is not just how to project power—but how to generate, align, and sustain it across all strategic domains.

GRIPS addresses that challenge.

It is descriptive but actionable, applicable across contexts, and scalable—from state-level analysis to alliance-level strategy.

The GRIPS Framework

Each GRIPS pillar answers a core question about a nation’s strategic capacity:

1. Governance

• Key question: Does the state command domestic legitimacy and strategic coherence?
• Assess: Institutional competence, policy continuity, rule of law (or functional alternatives), anti-corruption, and regulatory effectiveness.
• Example:
  • Singapore demonstrates technocratic governance without liberal democracy.
  • Germany relies on federalism and consensus institutions.
  • Russia’s centralized governance enables rapid action but weakens feedback loops.

2. Resilience

• Key question: Can the nation absorb shocks and resist coercion?
• Assess: Energy independence, fiscal stability, logistics, food and water security, industrial depth, and critical import reliability.
• Example:
  • India has improved food and financial resilience but remains energy-dependent.
  • Japan’s economic strength is offset by demographic fragility and resource vulnerability.
  • Ukraine’s resilience under invasion has redefined what national stamina can mean.

3. Innovation

• Key question: Can the country compete at the technological frontier?
• Assess: R&D intensity, talent mobility, IP generation, manufacturing ecosystems, access to compute and advanced tools.
• Example:
  • South Korea punches above its weight in innovation through coordinated policy and industrial champions.
  • China has built vast state-driven innovation engines—but still lags in some foundational IP and open research.
  • The U.S. leads in foundational research and talent—but struggles with industrial scaling and permitting bottlenecks.

4. Perception

• Key question: Does the country command strategic credibility and narrative trust?
• Assess: Public diplomacy, media credibility, alliance reliability, reputational consistency, and soft power assets.
• Example:
  • France leverages cultural and diplomatic presence far beyond its size.
  • Turkey uses strategic ambiguity to shift perceptions among multiple blocs.
  • China’s Belt and Road has expanded influence—but often at the cost of local trust.

5. Security

• Key question: Can the country deter aggression and safeguard its interests?
• Assess: Military readiness, defense industry, alliance integration, cyber defense, and capability across conventional and emerging domains.
• Example:
  • Israel maintains high deterrence through technological edge and mobilization speed.
  • Japan is rearming within a defensive framework under alliance protection.
  • Brazil has regional stability but limited external deterrent reach.

GRIPS in Action

GRIPS is not a ranking system. It’s a strategic audit.

• Some countries excel in innovation but lag in perception (e.g., China).
• Some are secure militarily but vulnerable economically (e.g., Russia).
• Others are credible on the world stage but stretched at home (e.g., U.K.).

Used properly, GRIPS reveals how national strategies succeed—or where they risk overreach, misalignment, or fragility.

What GRIPS Reveals

• Balance matters. No single pillar is sufficient. A country with military power but no trust, or tech but no governance, is unstable.
• Gaps matter. A mismatch between ambition and capacity creates strategic risk. That’s the subject of a future post: “Mind the Gap.”
• Change is possible. Pillars can be built, rebalanced, and reinforced through deliberate policy and partnership.

GRIPS is not just a framework—it’s a mindset.

One that equips us to think more clearly about national strength, global rivalry, and the future of power.

Next in the Series: PIVOT

In our next post, we’ll explore the second core framework:

PIVOT – A Diagnostic for Institutional Posture in Strategic Competition

While GRIPS assesses countries, PIVOT assesses companies, alliances, and institutions—revealing whether they are prepared to navigate the pressures of strategic rivalry.

Together, GRIPS, PIVOT and ALIGN comprise the 360° Strategic Coherence Frameworks