Volume 10, Issue 1

This article reaffirms Carl von Clausewitz’s assertion that defensive operations hold a strategic advantage over offensive operations. By examining the inherent advantages of the defense through the lenses of resource supply, psychological influence, public support, and fortifications, Lt Col Bright illustrates the enduring relevance of Clausewitz’s principles in the context of the ongoing Ukrainian-Russian armed conflict.

The ultimate function of military strategy is political victory. To achieve this, military strategy must appreciate — and be responsive to — the political dynamics that emerge from the recursive relationships that link the political and military events that comprise war.

The management of military personnel is frequently discounted in strategic discussions. This article uses the US Marine Corps as a case study to demonstrate how entrenched cultural practices can perpetuate ineffective personnel management, undermining military effectiveness and hindering the achievement of broader military and national strategies.

The article critiques the problem-solving approach in Western strategic thought, which oversimplifies complex geopolitical challenges by ignoring cultural and human factors. Instead, it suggests ‘problem-framing’, a flexible, context-driven method inspired by Clausewitz, emphasising adaptability and deeper understanding to address the unpredictability of conflicts effectively.

The war that began after the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led terror attack in southern Israel reveals Machiavelli's virtù in action, as Israel’s Dahiya Doctrine and Hamas’s Muqawama Doctrine employ strategies that tightly link policy, strategy, and military action. Thus, the enduring relevance of classical strategic thought in modern warfare is the unifying thread of this article.

Conflict has continued to rage in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) ever since 1996. The impact from the First (1996-1997) and Second (1998-2003) Congo Wars continues in the form of over 120 rebel groups dotted in much of the country. One of these rebel forces, the Mouvement du 23 Mars (M23), receives the most attention from the Congolese and international actors. This research argues that the failures to stop the M23 result from a poor understanding and implementation of strategy.