Liddell Hart’s Impact on the Study of Grand Strategy

Did Basil Liddell Hart make a significant contribution to the study of grand strategy? Although many scholars assume that he did, discussion of his impact has been largely limited to factually erroneous suggestions that he invented the idea or at least its modern interpretation. This chapter considers Liddell Hart’s impact on the subsequent study of grand strategy by differentiating between his own grand-strategic thought and that of his later interpreters. It begins by briefly introducing Liddell Hart’s best known paragraphs on grand strategy within his intellectual context, including not just the impact of the First World War upon his thought but also the ideas of grand strategy posited by his predecessor Julian Corbett and his contemporary JFC Fuller. Thereafter, the work of his most influential interpreter, Paul Kennedy, is introduced. The two competing interpretations of grand strategy, Kennedy’s of Liddell Hart versus Liddell Hart’s own, are examined to determine the extent to which Liddell Hart’s particular understanding actually survives in modern work on grand strategy. Finally, a caveat is made concerning Liddell Hart’s influence through Kennedy’s interpretation, as Kennedy was also influenced by American grand-strategic theorists such as Edward Mead Earle, to whose concept Kennedy’s own is much closer than to Liddell Hart.

India in the Post-Bipolar World: 30 Years of Searching the Place

The article analyzes the tools and mechanisms that Indian elites used to adapt the country’s foreign policy to the post-Cold War world order. We describe the internal political development of India over the past 30 years, noting that the general foreign and economic policies remained unchanged due to the political consensus. We analyze the desire of the Indian leadership to form a solid economic foundation, which is perceived in the framework of India’s strategic thought as a prerequisite for the country to claim the status of great power. Finally, we discuss the primary imperatives of the Indian external policy, i.e., building a sphere of influence necessary for the polycentric world. It is noted that India’s main external security challenges remain the same (China and Pakistan), although they have changed qualitatively: the PRC has become one of the superpowers, overtaking India in terms of economic development, and Pakistan acquired nuclear weapons. We conclude that, on the whole, the Indian elites managed to relatively safely lead the country through the chaos of the post-Cold War world, turning it into one of the largest economies in the world and providing the necessary conditions for raising its status in world politics.

Dynamics of Pakistan’s Nuclear Doctrine: Implications for Strategic Stability in South Asia

This article seeks to discuss Pakistan’s nuclear doctrine and its significance for strategic stability in South Asia which is challenged by complex interactions between different players in political, military, and technological dynamics. In particular, India’s easy access to technology and the challenges for Pakistan associated with fears of low-intensity conflicts due to Indian offensive strategies have resulted in dangerous instabilities. The Indian technological advancement has inevitably brought revolutionary changes in the strategic thought process thus continuously forcing Pakistan to modify or upgrade its nuclear doctrine. We argue that Pakistan’s nuclear doctrine is ambiguous, and the changing contours of Pakistan’s nuclear doctrine are within the framework of how technological advancement navigates strategic stability in the South Asian region.

Imua: Reflections on imua, talanoa-vā and leadership in the ongoing strategic journey of a New Zealand university

The appointment of the University of Waikato’s first Assistant Vice-Chancellor Pacific in February 2019 was an important milestone, not only recognising years of work and dedication by numerous Pacific and Māori staff, but triggering a new strategic direction for ‘Pacific at Waikato’. This paper explains that journey, one that is underpinned by Pacific cultural legacies, strengths, values and identity; built on talanoa-vā; informed by research, data analytics, student and community voice; combined with strategic thought and planning; and outworked in the pan-Pacific epithet, ‘imua’. This is a story of resilience, determination, negotiating a pandemic, problem-solving and innovation in an environment that seeks a ‘culture of belonging’ and where Pacific learners are encouraged to be themselves in the pursuit of educational achievement. This paper will be of interest to education providers, stakeholders and policy makers.

Allusion, reasoning and luring in Chinese psychological warfare

China's global proliferation of psychological warfare, operating in small signatures and low visibility, reflects a cultural continuity of ancient strategic thought and martial philosophy. Contemporary analysis explains how China's attempts to coerce and persuade its target entities work through systematic deception and perception management to achieve its authoritarian objectives. However, there are gaps in the understanding of these operations as distinct from conventional statecraft, and in the configuration and mechanism of actions constituting bottom-up change toward subduing the enemy without fighting. To guide the analysis of China's psychological warfare in an organized manner, an explanatory framework of three cultural drivers—allusion (anshi), reasoning (douzhi) and luring (yinyou)—and six tactics—induction (youdao), coercion (xiepo), sentiment (qinggan), hoax (xirao), persuasion (ganhua) and disguise (qiaozhuang)—were devised. It is argued that the deeply rooted ideational and materially embodied dynamics continue to exploit western social vulnerabilities and the open nature of democratic institutions by introducing policy confusion, assimilation and division. However, failing to recognise these as normative social practices will result in misguided counter-measures aimed at transforming the communist system into a capitalist democracy, triggering domestic social unrest, or discrediting the CCP leadership in the eyes of the world and the Chinese people.

MONOGRAPH BY BRANIMIR FURLAN ON NATIONAL SECURITY STATEGY

Last year (2020), the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Slovenia published a monograph by Brigadier General Branimir Furlan, Ph.D., titled Nacionalna (varnostna) strategija (National (security) strategy). It was published in the period following the adoption of the Resolution on the National Security Strategy of the Republic of Slovenia (ReSNV-2) in 2019, and at the time when the process of military strategic consideration and the drafting of a Military Strategy proposal in the Slovenian Armed Forces began. The authors of the latter used the monograph as help and support. The monograph will certainly also be a useful tool for the drafters of the next Defence Strategy and strategic planning documents. For those who use and study the ReSNV-2, this monograph serves as a scientifically based tool facilitating the understanding of the processes behind the drafting and the contents of the resolution as well as its positioning in theory and practice. In addition to the book Marsova dediščina (Mars’s Heritage) by Anton Žabkar, PhD, this monograph is the second Slovene work related to national security strategy, which can help us study the strategic environment, improve strategic thought and theory, and design and implement strategies. Brigadier General Furlan begins by presenting the development and roles of strategies in general, and then focuses on the field of national security. This is also important from the point of view of the contemporary application of strategies, when they are, at least in a popular sense, not applied only to large domains and systems, but also at the "individual" level. In the military and defence domains, this is also essential due to the level of military operation. Consequently, Brigadier General Furlan describes the relations between the strategic, operational, and tactical levels of operation. He guides us through the development of these relations, explaining the current situation where different levels are more interconnected and interinfluencing. This is especially important for countries of the size of Slovenia, where most strategic solutions are implemented at a lower tactical level. Additionally, Brigadier General Furlan explains the difference between operational art and operation(s), and provides Slovene equivalents of English terms. As a result, in addition to the substantive gaps, the monograph also fills the terminological gaps. Throughout the monograph, the author devotes effort to using Slovene terminology and substantiates the important concepts and terminology for the development of the scientific field of strategy theory. By doing this, he encourages the use of Slovene strategy-related terminology in practice both in the military and throughout the national security system. The central part of the monograph presents and explains the elements for the formulation of a national strategy, and describes various strategies and strategic methods, the ways to operate and achieve goals. In the case of the latter, deterrence is particularly important and emphasized. Moreover, it has not been sufficiently emphasized in Slovenian theory and practice, despite the fact that any deterrence is better than war. Escalation and nuclear strategy are also discussed in detail. Both are interesting for Slovenia from the point of view of its EU and NATO memberships and from the point of view of its use of non-owned mechanisms. The monograph also presents some specific but essential strategic factors, technology, geopolitics as well as the international order and transnational strategies that should be taken into account when devising a national security strategy. Special emphasis is placed on strategic communications, which is a concept under development, but will certainly become very important in the future. Brigadier General Furlan successfully connects theory, practice and Slovenian reality. By doing so, he indicates the possibilities of putting the strategy into practice, thus facilitating research of foreign works for attentive researchers and users of the monograph. By comparing foreign systems and analysing different authors, he provides many examples and arguments for the necessary professional and critical strategic thinking, and proves (what he has written in the closing) that the strategic process is about "finding the best approximation of the strategy that will most successfully enable us to achieve the desired end state with the available resources ”. The monograph explains the operational strategy and the development strategy. Both elements make up a comprehensive strategy. The national strategy is always a compromise between several factors, therefore the conclusion of the Brigadier General Furlan, stated in the closing, is very important: "It is essential (according to Betts) that compromises are not made regarding the resources necessary to achieve goals, but regarding the goals." By providing scientific substantiation, examples, and the connection between theory and reality, Brigadier General Furlan showed a direction, also to military officers, towards strengthening the strategic thought, work at the strategic level, as well as towards the devising and implementation of strategies. Strategy is generally a way of creating, and for small countries or armies, finding a favourable strategic situation. This search is one of the basic missions of high-ranking officers and generals at the strategic level, and this monograph can be of great help in this respect. Now retired Brigadier General of the Slovenian Armed Forces Branimir Furlan was one of the most prolific writers in the military. Among other things, he was the key author of the Military Doctrine adopted by the Government of the Republic of Slovenia in 2006. We thus very much look forward to his next book, which will focus on military strategy.

EVOLUCIJA POJMA STRATEGIJE IN NJEGOVO POVEZOVANJE S POLITIKO

V prispevku na podlagi zgodovinskega in kritičnega pristopa različnih pomembnejših teoretikov k razvoju strategije pojasnjujemo evolucijo pojma strategije, zlasti pa, zakaj in kako je njegov pomen povezan s človekovo naravo in tudi političnim vedenjem. Spoznanja raziskave kažejo dvoje, in sicer, da se je v zgodnjem zgodovinskem obdobju strategija snovala predvsem zaradi človekovih potreb po varnosti, v sodobni strateški misli, ko je ta potreba prerasla v širše politično vprašanje družbe, pa se je razumevanje strategije vse bolj povezovalo s politiko in njenim vplivom na proces oblikovanja in uresničevanja strategije. Ključne besede strategija, taktika, politika. Abstract Based on the historical and critical approaches of various important theorists to the development of strategy, this paper aims to explain the evolution of the concept of strategy, especially why and how its meaning is related to the human nature and the political behaviour. The research has shown two things. Firstly, that in the early historical period the strategy was designed mainly due to the human need for security, and, secondly, that in the modern strategic thought when these needs grew into a broader political issue of the society, the understanding of strategy was increasingly being related to the politics and its impact on the design and implementation of strategy. Key words strategy, tactics, politics.