8/6/2023 0 Comments Strategic war outlines pdfPlainly, in any study of the infinitely varied scale of human conduct strategic ‘theory’ cannot aspire to any hard scientific understanding that survives experimental testing under exactly replicable conditions. In the process, I hope to show that strategic theory is a simple, parsimonious, yet elegant, way of clarifying complexity.īefore itemizing what strategic theory is, it is necessary to appreciate how the term ‘theory’ is being used in this context. As will be shown, to achieve this understanding it is important to appreciate what strategic theory is not, as much as what it is. What, then, precisely is strategic theory, and how does it help us to open the mind? Working from first principles in the following commentary I aim to provide a concise understanding of what strategic theory encompasses in its most essential form. One of the best statements of the utility of strategic theory has been given by Harry Yarger: ‘Strategic theory opens the mind to all the possibilities and forces at play, prompting us to consider the costs and risks of our decisions and weigh the consequences of those of our adversaries, allies, and others’. The notion of strategic theory as a method of analysis has slowly, over the course of 40 years, permeated the domain of international relations and political studies via the work of those like Thomas Schelling and Colin Gray – classic strategic theorists – and has been increasingly used and acknowledged as a tool to assist in the comprehension of decision making. In fact, I have rarely been called upon to state what it is that explicitly underpins a strategic theory approach to the study of social phenomena. Yet, few appreciate what this term really is, and what it implies as a system of inquiry. It is employed to refer to anything from state policy to personal choices. The term ‘strategy’ must be one of the most commonly used terms in public discourse. As a ‘strategic theorist’ this is rather challenging. One of the most useful services that academics can perform is to explain the principles of thought that guide their study.
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