Volume 8, Issue 4
Spring 2023
A Strategist’s Guide to Disruptive Innovation
James J. Wirtz
This article describes four ways disruptive innovation is depicted by contemporary observers: The Silver Bullet, Diffuse Disruption, the Revolution in Military Affairs, and Acceleration. It explores how these concepts draw on different ideas about the sources of disruption, different visions of the scope and nature of disruption, and suggest different prescriptions about how militaries might go about gaining the benefits and avoiding the costs of disruptive innovation.
ReadA Quintessential Factor in Strategy Formulation: The Unequal Dialogue
Arnel P. David
This article reviews the theoretical constructs of Cohen's unequal dialogue and Clausewitz's theory of war as they apply to U.S. strategy formulation at the national level. It weaves in historical examples to highlight instances of when the application of these theories worked and did not work for U.S. civilian and military leadership.
ReadCold Wars, Grey Zones, and Strategic Competition: Applying Theories of War to Strategy in the 21st Century.
Peter L. Hickman
The terms Strategic Competition, Cold War, and Grey Zone suggest that the war/peace dyad is increasingly insufficient for understanding the true character of modern interstate relations. This paper briefly surveys how past theorists and strategists such as Clausewitz, Jomini, Fuller, Mahan, Corbett, and others have acknowledged the trade-offs required for thinking clearly about war and strategy and why theory provides enduring value for strategists today.
ReadSecuring Oman for Development: Sultan Qaboos Confronts his Enemies, 1970-1976
Simon Anglim
The Dhofar War of 1965-75 is the most successful counterinsurgency in history, with Oman being taken from facing the real prospect of defeat and takeover by a communist movement onto the path to becoming a successful, stable and prosperous modern state via a strategy headed by a clear-eyed and capable young ruler, Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said.
ReadWill Artificial General Intelligence Change the Nature of War?
Ares Simone Monzio Compagnoni
The possible rise of Artificial General Intelligence has the potential to change the nature of war. This article explores how super intelligence and consciousness could change Clausewitz’s definition of war, and influence the trinity of violence, chance, and politics.
ReadWhat Should a Strategist Know and Do, and Why
David Benson, Kira Graves, Sorin Adam Matei
We propose a realist theory definition of military strategy from which we derive a set of competencies and a matrix for their use in the strategic process. The article describes how competencies work when they intersect with the strategic process. A strategic thinking and matrix identifies negotiation and systems thinking as the most important competencies.
Read