Abstract
<title>Abstract</title> <p>NATO began developing its Multi-Domain Operations (MDO) concept in early 2020, and the Alliance formally approved it on 19 May 2023. Currently, the concept seeks to integrate instruments of power to orchestrate military activities across all operational domains (land, maritime, air, space, and cyberspace), while simultaneously synchronizing them with non-military instruments of power, namely diplomatic, information, military, and economic (DIME). Although the doctrine has evolved coherently within NATO, the conceptual foundations of MDO remain fragmented across scientific and policy-oriented analyses. Consequently, the existing literature offers a partial and dispersed representation of a concept that is already relatively well established within the Alliance. This fragmentation creates challenges for the conceptual alignment and for the development of a common analytical typology. To address this gap, this study conducts a conceptual analysis based on a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) and a Critical Appraisal Skills Program (CASP) of scientific publications in Elsevier’s Scopus. Synthesizing the existing literature and aligning 17 conceptual interpretations, this article proposes a unified framework that clarifies the essential mechanisms of NATO’s MDO. The analysis identifies several key elements that outline NATO’s MDO approach, including cross-domain integration, synchronized effects, and the coordination of military and non-military instruments of power.</p>