Foundations of strategic thinking

COURSE OUTLINE
FOUNDATIONS OF STRATEGIC
THINKING
Professor : Etienne De Durand
Academic Year 2015/2016 – Paris School of International Affairs – Fall Semester
Session 1 – The Nature of War
• General Presentation
• The Anthropology of War
• What is War?
Required reading:
• G. Blainey, The Causes of War, chap. 8.
Session 2 –The Clausewitzian Theory
• War and Policy/Politics
• Total War and Limited War
• Strategy as the Use, or Threat of Use, of Force
Required readings:
• C. von Clausewitz, On War, Book I, chap. 1, 2 & 8; Book III, chap. 1; Book VIII, chap. 1-3; the “1827
Notes”
• P. Paret, “Clausewitz”, Makers of Modern Strategy
Extra readings:
• C. von Clausewitz, On War, the whole of Books I, III, and VIII.
Session 3 – War and Strategy
• What Strategy Is and Is Not: the Core Concept and Its Derivatives
• Direct and Indirect Strategies
• The Principles of War
• The Levels of Strategy: from Grand Strategy to Tactics
Required readings:
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Beaufre, Introduction to Strategy, intro and chap. 1.
B. Liddell Hart, Strategy, chap. 6.
E. Luttwak, The Logic of War and Peace, intro and chap. 1-3.
W. Murray et al, “Introduction: On strategy”, The Making of Strategy
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COURSE OUTLINE
Extra readings:
• C. von Clausewitz, On War, Books VI, chap. 1-5 and 26; Book VII, chap. 1-5 and 22.
Session 4 – Strategic Culture
• National Styles, Military and Strategic Cultures: History & Geography vs. Theory
• Western and Eastern Ways of War
• Strategic Culture as a Heuristic Tool
Required readings:
• C.S. Gray, « Strategy in the Nuclear Age… », pp. 589-598.
• Iain Johnston, « Thinking About Strategic Culture », International Security.
• Sun Ze, The Art of War
Extra readings:
• B. Colson, « Culture stratégique », in Dictionnaire de stratégie.
• T. Mahnken, US Strategic Culture, SAIC
Séance n° 5 – Strategy in Land Warfare: from Tactics to Operational Art
• 3,000 Years of Warfare at a Glance
• Firepower in the Modern Era
• Maneuver and Attrition in the 20th Century
Required readings:
• C. Ardant du Picq, Battle Studies, Part I, chap. 3, Part II, chap. 1
• Beaufre, Introduction to Strategy, chap. 2
• C. Bellamy, Evolution of Modern Land Warfare, chap. 1-3
• B. Liddell Hart, Stratégie, in Chaliand, Anthologie mondiale de la stratégie, pp. 1174-76
Extra readings:
• C. Ardant du Picq, Battle Studies, whole book
• E. Luttwak, The Logic of War and Peace, Part III
Séance n° 6 – Air and Naval Strategies
• Maritime vs. Continental Powers
• Overview of Naval Strategists and their Theories
• The Origins of Air Power
• Air Power Redux
Required readings:
• E. Cohen, “The U.S. Mystique of Air Power”, Foreign Affairs
• Julian Corbett, The Green Pamphlet, excerpts
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COURSE OUTLINE
• T. Mahan, The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, excerpts
• R. Pape, Bombing To Win, chap. 2, and “The Limits of Precision-Guided Air Power”, Security Studies
Extra readings:
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H. Coutau-Bégarie, Traité de stratégie, « la stratégie maritime théorique »
G. Douhet, Command of the Air, excerpt
B. Lambeth, NATO Air War in Kosovo
John Warden, The Air Campaign
Séance n° 7 – RMA and Military Transformation
• From Military Revolutions to the Revolution in Military Affairs
• Information War: Debunking the Myth
• Military Transformation: Promises, Achievements, and Limits
Required readings:
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S. Biddle, “Allies, Air Power, and Modern Warfare”, International Security
B. Posen, “Command of the Commons”, International Security
E. Cohen, “A Revolution in Warfare”, Foreign Affairs
E. de Durand, « Révolution dans les affaires militaires », Hérodote
Session 8 – Nuclear Conundrum and Doctrinal Cycles
• The Nuclear Revolution
• Vulnerability and Credibility
• Warfighting vs. Arms Control
• The French Case: Deterrence and Non-Use
Required readings:
• Beaufre, Introduction to Strategy, chap. 3
• B. Brodie, The Absolute Weapon, excerpt
• M. Quinlan, “Deterrence”
• T. Schelling, “Manipulation of Risk” and “Commitment”, Arms and Influence
• Wohlstetter, The Delicate Balance of Terror
Extra readings:
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Robert Jervis, The Illogic of American Nuclear Strategy, chap. 1, 3, 5-6
C.S. Gray, K. Payne, “Victory Is Possible”
L. Poirier, Des stratégies nucléaires, excerpt ; « Dissuasion et puissance moyenne »
Glenn Snyder, Deterrence and Defense, excerpt of intro
Session 9 – Deterrence Today and Tomorrow
• Proliferation, Counter-Proliferation and Missile Defense
• Implications for Deterrence
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COURSE OUTLINE
Required readings:
• D. Gormley, “The Path to Deep Nuclear Reductions”, Proliferation Paper
• M. Quinlan, “How Robust is India-Pakistan Deterrence?”, and “India-Pakistan Deterrence Revisited”,
Survival
• S. Sagan, “The Perils of Proliferation”, International Security
• V. Utgoff, “Missile Defense and American Ambitions”
• K. Waltz et S. Sagan, The Spread of Nuclear Weapons, chap. 3
• K. Waltz, “The Spread of Nuclear Weapons: More May Better,” Adelphi Papers
Session 10 – Irregular Warfare
• Small Wars and Guerillas
• Revolutionary Warfare: Origins and Variations
• Counterinsurgency Now and Then
Required readings:
• Beaufre, Introduction to Strategy, chap. 4
• G. Chaliand, « Introduction », Stratégies de la guérilla
• Mack, “Why Big Nations Lose Small Wars”, World Politics
Extra readings:
• S. Ferdi, « Les débuts de la guerre d’Algérie »
• V.N. Giap, « Guerre du peuple et art militaire » in Chaliand, Stratégies de la guérilla
• Mao, « De la guerre prolongée », in G. Chaliand, Mao, stratège révolutionnaire, pp. 181-188.
Session 11 – Asymmetric Warf
• Irregular, Asymmetric, or Hybrid Wars?
• Terrorism as Tactic and as Strategy
Required readings:
• S. Atran, “The Moral Logic and Growth of Suicide Terrorism”, Washington Quart.
• C. Gray, Irregular Enemies and the Essence of Strategy, SSI.
• M. Mazarr, “The Folly of Asymmetric War”, Washington Quarterly
• S. Metz, Learning from Iraq
• H. Münkler, « Les guerres nouvelles »,
• R. Pape, “The Srategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism”
• R. Smith, The Utility of Force, chap. 7
Extra readings:
• B. Jenkins et W. Laqueur, in R. Art, The Use of Force, pp. 77-84, 450-457.
• Q. Liang, Unrestricted Warfare
• M. Manwaring, Shadows of Things Past
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COURSE OUTLINE
• J. Record, “External Assistance”, Parameters
• M. Van Creveld, The Transformations of War, excerpt (in French)
Session 12 – Is Strategy Still Possible?
• War, Military Power and International Influence
• From Procurement to Crisis Management: the Impracticality of Grand Strategy
• War, Strategy, and Politics in Contemporary Democracies
Required reading:
• Hew Strachan, “The Lost Meaning of Strategy”, Survival
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