Strategy in the Contemporary World: An Introduction to Strategic Studies

• Main Author: Abel Esterhuyse
• Format: Article
• Language: Afrikaans
• Published: Stellenbosch University 2012-02-01
• Series: Scientia Militaria
• Subjects: security studies; new threats; international terrorism; the spread of weapons of mass destruction; traditional strategic-studies approach; by describing the intellectual, military, or political evolution of the topic; ISBN 019878273X
• Online Access: http://scientiamilitaria.journals.ac.za/pub/article/view/149

At first glance two aspects about the book stands out. Firstly, some of the foremost scholars in the field of strategic and security studies contributed to it. They include Colin Gray, John Baylis, John Garnette, Steven Biddle, Lawrence Freedman and Eliot Cohen. Secondly, this work covers a wide range of topics within the field of strategic studies. As the editors explain, their purpose is "to identify, update, and apply traditional concepts of strategy to an emerging security environment characterized by globalization, the information revolution, the new threats posed by international terrorism, the spread of weapons of mass destruction, and a host of ethnic and regional conflict." Although the focus is on the emerging security environment it is clear that allthe contributors followed a very traditional strategic-studies approach in their discussion of these issues, which are considered in historical context by describing the intellectual, military, or political evolution of the topic. This is done in an effort to explain that some of the modem issues are indeed old concepts or even ideas discredited long ago dressedup to meet modem tastes.