often times characterized by “wicked problems” or unsolvable problems. Compiled during the early 19th century, Clausewitz’s manuscript “On War” arguably posited the same conclusion in relation to the strategic level of war. He described war as uncertain, unpredictable, and marked by chance. The more the scale moved from the tactical realm to the strategic realm, the more complex war became due to the aforementioned variables. Society today must contend with the impacts of globalization, which
theorist provides the most useful guidance for determining the object of a strategy or strategies? Introduction Clausewitz’s attack of enemy centers of gravity and Sun Tzu’s prioritization of attack of important elements of national power provide contrasting approaches to the development of effective strategy. These contrasts are reflections of each author’s perspective on how war should be waged, the proper use of force, their definitions of the ideal victory and how best to achieve that victory
Carl von Clausewitz articulated a number of observations and principles describing the fundamental nature of war. First among these is his assertion that all military action, including war, is aimed at achieving a political objective. Additionally, he observed that each side in a conflict would resist the other with a degree of effort equal to the value of their political objective. Finally, he argued that it is essential to focus all efforts on overcoming an adversary’s principle source of
There has never been one distinct and concrete definition of war that captures its essence; most definitions are very complex and varies from one another. Nonetheless, the Correlates of War Projects provides a general accepted explanation delineating that war is “an organized and deliberate political act by an established political authority, which must cause a thousand or more deaths in a 12-month period, and require at least two actors capable of harming each other.” The key phrase – political
On War, written by Carl von Clausewitz, is an attempt to understand war as a concept and as a policy endeavor. Although the theoretical composition remains relevant today, it is largely a project of the time and culture in which Clausewitz lived (1780-1831). Section 27 of Chapter 1, Book 1 is where Clausewitz presents the nature of war and his reiterating theme that war is always an instrument of policy. It is tempting to incorporate many of the author’s ideas about understanding war as a policy
The wars at the end of the Cold War and the beginning of the new century are entirely different from the other ones, mainly since September 11th, 2011. The nature of the strategic environment of the warfare has undergone a series of transformations because of the globalization, technology, economic relationships, and cultural changes. They influence the war and create an environment characterized as volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA). This new environment has shifted the conventional
incorporated significant changes; rather than monarch against monarch, war became a fight between nations, namely nationalism. Intense nationalism influenced citizens to accept great personal sacrifice, included military service, for the commitments and objectives of the State. The Napoleonic model, epitomized in the writings of Jomini and Clausewitz, masterly managed the rise of nationalism to succeed in warfare. Perfectly applied the Clausewitz’s trinity: “the first of these three as¬pects [violence] mainly
War is amongst the oldest social facts in human history. It promises power and honour; it also brings death and regret. As the bloodiest type of warfare, interstate war has aroused numerous reflections on the causes of it. Most scholars regard interstate wars as resulting from states’ intent for survival and power in an anarchic international system. Thus, the root motivations to go to war lie in the international politics. In their arguments, Michael Howard, Greg Cashman and Leonard C. Robinson
therefore prudent to review lessons of tenacity from a historical perspective. Tenacity could be considered a core value for historical leaders many years ago and tenacity is vital to military professionals today. Current conflicts in irregular wars demand frequent deployments that put a strain on military units almost to the brink of their culmination point. History shows that tenacity is a virtue especially when reviewing the military
thesis, On War which contains eight parts of books had been published by his wife after Clausewitz dead in 1831. The change on the nature in the conduct of war during Clausewitz time was the factor why he needed to reexamine the subjects through his writing. In his time, the warfare that occurred can be categorized as the modern warfare. His intention that On War is going to be the book