Strategic Theory for the 21st Century

Strategic Theory for the 21st Century
Author: Harry Richard Yarger
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2006
Genre: Military doctrine
ISBN: 9781584872337

The word "strategy" pervades American conversation and our news media and is most often used as a general term for a plan, a concept, a course of action, or a "vision" of the direction in which to proceed at the personal, organizational, and governmental--local, state, or federal--levels. Such casual use of the term to describe nothing more than "what we would like to do next" is inappropriate and belies the complexity of true strategy and strategic thinking. This "little book" talks about big strategy, strategy at the highest levels of the nation-state. It is applicable to grand strategy, national security strategy, national military strategy, and regional or theater strategy. The monograph does not propose a strategy for the United States; rather, it provides a framework for considering strategy at any of the levels mentioned above. It is an examination of theory, exploring those aspects of strategy that appear to have universal application. The theory also may have application to the strategy of nonstate actors, institutions, and businesses, but the explicit purpose and perspective offered herein focus on the nation-state.

Strategic Theory for the 21st Century

Strategic Theory for the 21st Century
Author: Harry Richard Yarger
Publisher:
Total Pages: 100
Release: 2006
Genre: Military art and science
ISBN:

The word "strategy" pervades American conversation and our news media and is most often used as a general term for a plan, a concept, a course of action, or a "vision" of the direction in which to proceed at the personal, organizational, and governmental--local, state, or federal--levels. Such casual use of the term to describe nothing more than "what we would like to do next" is inappropriate and belies the complexity of true strategy and strategic thinking. This "little book" talks about big strategy, strategy at the highest levels of the nation-state. It is applicable to grand strategy, national security strategy, national military strategy, and regional or theater strategy. The monograph does not propose a strategy for the United States; rather, it provides a framework for considering strategy at any of the levels mentioned above. It is an examination of theory, exploring those aspects of strategy that appear to have universal application. The theory also may have application to the strategy of nonstate actors, institutions, and businesses, but the explicit purpose and perspective offered herein focus on the nation-state.

Strategic Theory for the 21st Century

Strategic Theory for the 21st Century
Author: Harry R. Yarger
Publisher:
Total Pages: 94
Release: 2006-02-28
Genre:
ISBN: 9781461185925

Strategy for the nation-state is neither simple nor easy. Good strategy demands much of the military professional whether he is formulating, articulating, evaluating, or executing strategy. Few do it well. It requires the professional to step out of the planning mindset and adopt one more suited for the strategic environment. This is particularly true in periods of great change and turmoil when a successful military strategy must be closely integrated with and may depend on other national strategies of the interagency community. A theory of strategy helps in this transition by educating the professional and disciplining his thinking in any of his roles. This monograph advances a theory of strategy that provides essential terminology and definitions, explanations of the underlying assumptions and premises, and substantive hypotheses that explain the nature of the strategic environment and the role and expectations of strategy. The environment is explained in theoretical and practical terms, and the implications for strategic thinking are developed with a distinction being made between strategy and planning mindsets. The typical problems practitioners have in formulating and articulating strategy are discussed. Strategy formulation is recognized as both an art and science, and the U.S. Army War College strategy model of ends, ways, and means is expounded on and advocated as a methodology for articulating strategies.

Strategy and the National Security Professional

Strategy and the National Security Professional
Author: Harry R. Yarger
Publisher: Praeger
Total Pages: 200
Release: 2008-07-30
Genre: History
ISBN:

This book focuses on strategic theory, strategic thinking and strategy formulation. It provides theory and framework for considering and formulating all state strategy. It is an examination of theory, exploring those aspects of strategy that appear to have a universal application. With the proper environmental assessment and appraisal, it argues key strategic factors can be identified and strategy appropriately formulated in rational expression of ends, ways, and means. This book also demonstrates how to develop and clearly articulate the objectives, concepts, and resources in strategy, as well as how to avoid common errors and pitfalls in strategy formulation. It offers practical tests for determining the validity of a particular strategy and ways in which to articulate risk.

Military Strategy

Military Strategy
Author: Joseph Wylie, Jr
Publisher: Naval Institute Press
Total Pages: 139
Release: 2014-04-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 1612515150

“No military service can long remain effective without searching self-criticism and continuous re-examination of its own ideas. Wylie, well known in the Navy, is a refreshingly and outspoken individual, thoroughly at home on the bridge of a ship, but equally at home in the semantics of dialectical discussion. He has produced a simple but relevant little work in an attempt to promote order in the discussion of strategy. . . . To the traditional theories of strategy-the maritime theory, the air theory, the continental theory-Wylie adds the ‘Mao theory’ of wars of national liberation. . . . [This book is] easier to read and understand and basically sounder than the great majority of the involved and tortuous rationalizations of the academic strategists.”- New York Times Book Review

The Direction of War

The Direction of War
Author: Hew Strachan
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 337
Release: 2013-12-05
Genre: History
ISBN: 1107047854

A major contribution to our understanding of contemporary warfare and strategy by one of the world's leading military historians.

Understanding Contemporary Strategy

Understanding Contemporary Strategy
Author: Thomas M. Kane
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 311
Release: 2012-03-12
Genre: History
ISBN: 1136622810

Understanding Contemporary Strategy provides an accessible and comprehensive introduction to the theory and practice of modern strategy. Covering all the main issues in the field, the book explores the major themes through a combination of classical and modern strategic theory, history and current practice. The book is split into three main sections: Definition and Context : including discussion of the human, technological, intelligence, ethical and grand-strategic dimensions Strategy in the Geographic Environments: land, sea, air and space Contemporary Strategic Challenges: terrorism, insurgency and nuclear strategy. Each chapter presents the reader with a succinct summary of the topic, but also provides a challenging analysis of current issues, supporting students with pedagogical features such as suggested further reading, boxed case studies and study questions. This book will be essential reading for upper-level students of strategic studies, war studies, military history and international security.

Strategic Thinking and the New Science

Strategic Thinking and the New Science
Author: T. Irene Sanders
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 208
Release: 1998-05-05
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0684842688

The future is happening today, and the most successful organizations will be those that understand the dynamics of the "big picture" in which their decisions are being made. This book describes how to understand and influence that picture. Irene Sanders pioneered the application of chaos theory and complexity to strategic thinking -- the most essential skill in today's fast-paced business environment. Now, in this straightforward, easy-to-read book, she shows how the most up-to-date strategic thinking is done, and how you can begin using it in your enterprise. Sanders' original and practical approach moves far beyond traditional forecasting, futuring and scenario-building. The new science of chaos and complexity has shown scientists and business professionals alike the importance of looking at the world as a whole system, rather than as a collection of deterministic principles. Consequently, the human mind -- through the integration of intuition and intellect -- is now recognized as the only information processor capable of understanding the level of complexity in today's global business environment. By engaging the mind's eye through the use of visual thinking, Sanders shows you how to develop insight about the present and foresight about the future, thereby allowing you to see and influence the future as it is emerging. The new planning paradigm presented in Strategic Thinking and the New Science is nothing less than a transformation of the science of business. For the first time in history, we have the knowledge, tools and techniques to develop visual thinking as the essential insight/foresight skill of the future. In addition to breakthroughs neuroscientists have made about brain-mind interactions, artists and psychologists are revealing the role of imagery in the creative process. And now, the new field of scientific visualization brings all of this information together with computer graphics to demonstrate how visual images can be used to engage our imaginations, enhance learning -- and stimulate our deeper levels of awareness. In this groundbreaking book, Sanders is the first to define the new model of strategic thinking -- a model that is bound to revolutionize organizations of all types as they begin to see and influence their futures -- today.

Strategy

Strategy
Author: Sir Lawrence Freedman
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 768
Release: 2013-09-02
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0199349908

Selected as a Financial Times Best Book of 2013 In Strategy: A History, Sir Lawrence Freedman, one of the world's leading authorities on war and international politics, captures the vast history of strategic thinking, in a consistently engaging and insightful account of how strategy came to pervade every aspect of our lives. The range of Freedman's narrative is extraordinary, moving from the surprisingly advanced strategy practiced in primate groups, to the opposing strategies of Achilles and Odysseus in The Iliad, the strategic advice of Sun Tzu and Machiavelli, the great military innovations of Baron Henri de Jomini and Carl von Clausewitz, the grounding of revolutionary strategy in class struggles by Marx, the insights into corporate strategy found in Peter Drucker and Alfred Sloan, and the contributions of the leading social scientists working on strategy today. The core issue at the heart of strategy, the author notes, is whether it is possible to manipulate and shape our environment rather than simply become the victim of forces beyond one's control. Time and again, Freedman demonstrates that the inherent unpredictability of this environment-subject to chance events, the efforts of opponents, the missteps of friends-provides strategy with its challenge and its drama. Armies or corporations or nations rarely move from one predictable state of affairs to another, but instead feel their way through a series of states, each one not quite what was anticipated, requiring a reappraisal of the original strategy, including its ultimate objective. Thus the picture of strategy that emerges in this book is one that is fluid and flexible, governed by the starting point, not the end point. A brilliant overview of the most prominent strategic theories in history, from David's use of deception against Goliath, to the modern use of game theory in economics, this masterful volume sums up a lifetime of reflection on strategy.