Military Strategy

Description

Distilling the ideas of the greatest military theoreticians of history, including Sun Tzu, Niccolò Machiavelli, and Carl von Clausewitz, this clear and engaging Very Short Introduction presents a fascinating account of the "art of the general." Antulio J. Echevarria II highlights the dynamic relationship between the main elements of strategy: purpose, method, and means. Drawing on historical examples, he discusses the major types of military strategy and how emerging technologies are affecting them.

This second edition has been updated throughout, and now includes an extended chapter on cyberwarfare which shows how the use of social media platforms to influence opinions on political views and manipulate populations to act in certain ways has evolved from an art to a science.

About the author

Antulio J. Echevarria II is Professor of Strategy and General Douglas MacArthur Chair of Research, US Army War College. He is the author of a number of books, including War's Logic: Strategic Thought and the American Way of War and Clausewitz and Contemporary War.

Table of contents

List of illustrations
Prologue
1. What is military strategy?
2. Annihilation and dislocation
3. Attrition and exhaustion
4. Deterrence and compellence
5. Terror and terrorism
6. Decapitation and targeted killing
7. Winning without fighting: manipulation and cyberwarfare
8. What causes military strategies to succeed or fail
References
Further reading
Index