Infinity Journal Volume 5, Issue 2, Spring 2016

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Volume 5, Issue 2, Spring 2016 Infinity Journal Page 34
Comparing and contrasting Sun Tzu with other great
military thinkers of the West has produced invaluable
insights, and, as Michael Handel put it, "allows us to better
understand these works on their own terms."[i] Prominent
comparative analyses of Sun Tzu with others include: Sun
Tzu, Clausewitz, and Jomini;[ii] Sun Tzu, Carl von Clausewitz,
and Machiavelli;[iii] Liddell-Hart and Sun Tzu.[iv] Yet so far,
based on the author's knowledge, General André Beaufre
has not been subject to comparative analysis with Sun Tzu
in English academic discourse. This, though, is not the case
for Chinese discourse. Chinese scholarship has taken André
Beaufre's An Introduction to Strategy and, based on content
analysis, juxtaposed it with Sun Tzu's The Art of War.This paper
commences with a brief introduction of André Beaufre and
his major concepts of total strategy; then it proceeds with
sketching the probable value of Beaufre's An Introduction
to Strategy in Chinese military science. Finally, this writing
expounds how Chinese scholarship views similarities and
differences between Beaufre and Sun Tzu, and how Beaufre's
total strategy might have influenced aspects of China's
grand strategy.
André Beaufre
The French military strategist General André Beaufre (1902-
1975)[v] is probably most famous for his An Introduction to
Strategy (1963), translated in 1965. His most important books
include: An Introduction to Strategy, Deterrence and Strategy
and Strategy of Action. These three books together form a
triptych which set out in outline the components of a
theory of total strategy.[vi] Beaufre's ideas were shaped by
his service background as a French military officer. André
Beaufre's concept of strategy is not purely a military one. He
strongly believed that "a positive strategy of action will have
to rely not only upon nonnuclear but also upon nonmilitary
means."[vii] Beaufre's definition of strategy in essence
encompasses "the art of applying force so that it makes the
most effective contribution toward achieving the ends set
by policy" and "the art of the dialectic of two opposing wills
using force to resolve their dispute."[viii] Beaufre was the first
who coined the word total strategy.[ix] Beaufre's definition of
total strategy refers to the choice of means laid out by policy.
[x] The major concepts of his total strategy encompass:
• Total strategy:It is locatedat the topof the strategypyramid
and is under the direct control of the government which
also decides how all other strategies are coordinated
and employed.[xi]
• Direct strategy mode and indirect strategy mode: Direct
and indirect strategy are two different modes of total
strategy. Both are classified according to the role played
by force, ranging from the most insidious to the most
violent methods. In the direct mode military strategy
plays a preponderant role; in the indirect mode military
force plays a secondary role.[xii]
• Strategy of action: Due to the confines of nuclear or
political deterrence, within the context of the strategy
of action "it is the indirect strategy that is very important
and not the direct strategy's adoption of material force.
Although the means that direct strategy and indirect
strategy are employing are different,but both are fighting
for the country's ultimate purpose which is the freedom
of action."[xiii]
For Beaufre total strategy must remain subordinate to national
policy.[xiv] In his view the military sphere and the political
sphere of policy and strategy go hand in hand; you cannot
separate one from the other. Therefore, politics must be a
part of military action.[xv] Regarding the interdependence
between political and military affairs, Beaufre advocated
that the implementation of all policy should additionally
be assisted by the meticulously planning methods of
military strategy.[xvi] In its relation to politics, strategy should
Tim Kumpe is a Ph.D. candidate at the Graduate Institute
of International Affairs and Strategic Studies (GIIASS),
Tamkang University, Taiwan. He received his M.A. in
Sinology and American Studies from Goethe University,
Frankfurt, Germany. His research interests include strategy,
terrorism/counterterrorism, and homeland security in
Taiwan and in the United States.
To cite this Article: Kumpe, Tim, “André Beaufre in Contemporary Chinese Strategic Thinking,” Infinity Journal, Volume 5, Issue 2,
spring 2016, pages 34-42.
André Beaufre in Contemporary Chinese Strategic
Thinking
Tim Kumpe
Graduate Institute of International Affairs and Strategic
Studies (GIIASS)
Sun Tzu, By 663highland (663highland)
[GFDL , CC-BY-SA-3.0
by-sa/3.0/) or CC BY 2.5 )], via Wikimedia Commons