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Strategy - Coggle Diagram
Strategy
Strachan, Hew. "Strategy in Theory; Strategy in Practice." Journal of Strategic Studies 42, no. 2 (2019): 171-90.
Strat 1
Change in understanding of Strategy over time #
Deterrence and role of international law #
Strategy influence to foreign policy # #
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Study of history important, but not enough (theory versus practice)
How theory can support practice - both their roles, articulated well at the end of the document #
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Difficult to implement as it deals in much unknown #
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No universal character to war #
Critique of the study of history for strategy. History illuminates differences, as it does not repeat #
Common principles only gets you so far. Operating environments fundementally differ in culture, history, geography, religion, literacy, economic potential, outlook, etc #
Critique that war is a continuation of politics. Actually it represents more change than continuity, with British example of pre and post 9/11 # #
Balance of Ends and Means - they can influence each other, risking policy subordinated to contingencies of war # #
Democracy can undermine strategy in war # # # #
Strategy is a pragmatic activity - it exists 'in the moment'. Study prepares you for strategy (pre-strategy).
Maritime Strategy commentary (Corbett, etc)
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Critique of modern strategy - confusing Operations for Strategy #
Betts, Richard K. "Is Strategy an Illusion?". International security 25, no. 2 (2000 2000): 5-50.
Strat 5
Crituque of Clausewitz War extension of Politics # #
Human endevour, subjected to intelligence and wisdom deficiencies and biases
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Balance of ends and means # # #
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Strategy fails when a link breaks, such as between military objectives and political aim
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Strategy as an 'applied science' - applying existing knowledge to develop more practical solutions. There are no prescriptions # #
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Strategy is destined to fail. Luck versus Genius, with Hitler, Churchill and MacArthur examples #
Randomness versus Prediction - Complexity preclude controlling factors #
Win the war, but lose the peace
Chaos Theory - "if there is no hope of discerning and manipulating causes to produce intended effects, analysts as well as politicians and generals should all quit and go fishing" - this isnt true. Having input into the chaotic nonlinear system influences the outputs
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Cultural influences to Strategy. #
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You go to war with the Army you have - Ends changes quickly, means less so (page 39) #
Brands, H. (2014). Introduction: The Meaning and Challenge of Grand Strategy. What Good Is Grand Strategy?, Cornell University Press: 1-16.
Strat 27
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Tension of balance between ends and means #
Enemy gets a vote - an interactive process # #
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Difference between Grand Strategy and Foreing Policy # #
Win the War but lose the peace idea #
Distant view, but not too distant #
Democracy and Grand Strategy # #
Role / Utility / Restrictions of Bureaucracy # # #
Examples of Politics divorced from strategy WW1 # #
"Plans are nothing, planning is everything" idea
Human endeavour and fallibility of this # # #
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Gray Colin, S. "Why Strategy Is Difficult." JFQ, Summer (1999): 80-86.
Strat 1
No technological panaceas (Change in Character does not equate to Change in Nature) # # # # # #
Strategy is a practical process # #
Strategy is complex # # # #
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Complex system. Each element of dimension can impact all others #
More than winning battles - win battle, lose the war # #
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Tension in bureaucratic / democratic system - Politicians/commanders/planners/theorists # # # #
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Future is unforeseeable. Plan to behave in an uncertain future. Expectations of the future are only guesswork
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Jensen, B., et al. (2019). "Fancy bears and digital trolls: Cyber strategy with a Russian twist." Journal of Strategic Studies 42(2): 212-234.
Strat 29
Changing character of war # # #
Definition (idea of as a guide) # #
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Cyber not decisive by itself #
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Cyber espionage, degradation, disruption #
Cyber strategy as a modern form of coercive diplomacy #
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Cyber coercion is difficult, costly, and time-consuming #
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Freedman, Lawrence. "Defining War." In The Oxford Handbook of War, edited by Yves Boyer and Jullian Lindley-French. Online: Oxford University Press, 2012.
Strat 1
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escelation as war continues. Difficult to contain given the objective increasingly becomes beating the enemy versus keeping the means proportionate #
Political goals escelation as a result of events. 'Ends' and 'Means' influence each other and balance # # # # #
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War involves violence. There can be no war without acts of warfare # # #
Resorted to armed force is done to gain advantage, or prevent disadvantage
Power - military and economic resource superiority does not garuantee favourable outcomes #
War is a human endevour. Subject to mistakes. Enemy gets a vote # # # #
As a result of war, much changes and much stays the same
Deterrence - cause of non-war is awareness of the cost and character of modern war, particularly total war #
Richard K. Betts, ‘The Grandiosity of Grand Strategy’, The Washington Quarterly (Vol.42, Issue 4; 2019), 7-22
Strat 28 # # # # #
Strategy must be adaptable, but adaptability is not a strategy # # # # #
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Grand Strategy is destined to fail in some regard. Partial success is what history demonstrates. It this a bad thing though? Is Grand Strategy at least responsible for that partial success? # # # # # # #
Strategy must be executed by practititioners, who are subjected to their own institutional processes # # # # #
Democracy a natural barrier to coherence and consistency # # #
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Many definitions, and critique of them
Silove, N. (2018). "Beyond the buzzword: the three meanings of “grand strategy”." Security studies 27(1): 27-57.
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Includes all spheres of state-craft (all the resources) # # #
Trade-offs to advance the State's most important interests # #
Critique of balance as a character of strategy # #
Very academic in discussing how to establish a true definition of Grand Strategy #
Ideas of Grand Strategy as 'Grand plans' 'Grand Principles' and 'Grand Behaviour' # #
Strategy as a pattern of behaviour # # #
Strategy as an organising principle #
Strategy as a Plan # # # # #
Bowen, B. E. (2019). "From the sea to outer space: The command of space as the foundation of spacepower theory." Journal of Strategic Studies 42(3-4): 532-556.
Strat 29
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Space as a component of Grand Strategy # # #
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Changes the Character of War, not the nature # # #
Types of Space Operations, using current Seapower operations as an analogy #
Way of thinking about space #
Jablonsky, D. (2010). National Power. The US Army War College Guide to National Security Issues. Volume 1: Theory of War and Strategy. J. B. Bartholomees Jr, ARMY WAR COLL STRATEGIC STUDIES INST CARLISLE BARRACKS PA: 123-139.
Strat 4
Many elements to a Nation's power #
Potential versus actual power # #
Power is only realised in comparison to others. It does not exist in isolation - it is always relative/subjective #
Power is situational # # # #
Power is dynamic, not permanent. Subject to change. # # #
Natural and Social determinants of National Power - they are intertwined and cannot be viewed in isolation
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Price, M., et al. (2018). "The Machine Beneath: Implications of Artificial Intelligence in Strategic Decision making." Prism 7(4): 92-105.
Strat 29
Changing Character of War example # #
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Recommendations for the integration of AI in international community # #
Hinton, P. (2020). "Strategic Culture: In Defiance of a Structural World Order." The RUSI Journal 165(4): 80-87.
Strat 6
Culture contributes to how foreign policy and security issues are dealt with #
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Understanding your own strategic culture, and your opponents, is critical. Strategy has failed in the past when this hasn't been understood
Non-Static. Time and space must always be considered # #
Cohen, E. A. (2001). "The unequal dialogue: The theory and reality of civil-military relations and the use of force." Soldiers and civilians: The civil-military gap and American national security: 429-458.
Strat 7
Gap between personality, outlook, backgfround between civi and military personnel - particularly in wartime #
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Mattern, J. B. (2008). "The concept of power and the (un) discipline of International Relations." The Oxford handbook of international relations: 691-698.
Strat 4
Where there is politics, there is power #
Potential vs actual power # #
Lantis, J. S. and D. Howlett (2013). Strategic culture. Strategy in the contemporary world. J. Bayliss, J. Wirtz and C. Gray. Oxford, Oxford University Press: 89-107.Strat 6 #
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This would be a good reading for the Strategic Culture topic. If not, probably avoid