America, Technology and Strategic Culture: A Clausewitzian Assessment / Edition 1

by Brice Harris

Overview

This book analyses the American way of war within the context of Clausewitzian theory. In doing so, it draws conclusions about the origins, viability, and technical feasibility of America’s current strategic approach.

The author argues that the situation in which America has found itself in Iraq is the direct result of a culturally predisposed inclination to substitute technology for strategy. This habit manifests most extremely in the form of the Network-Centric Warfare/Effects-Based Operations (NCW/EBO) construct, which by and large has failed to deliver on its many promises. This book argues that the fundamental problem with the NCW/EBO – and with US defence transformation, generally – is that it centres on technology at the expense of other dynamics, notably the human one. Taking a fresh perspective on US strategic cultural predispositions in an era of persistent military conflict, the author argues for the necessity of America’s revising its strategic paradigm in favour of a more holistic brand of strategy.

This book will be of much interest to students of Clausewitz, Strategic Studies, International Security and US foreign policy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415775847
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	08/21/2008
Series:	Strategy and History
Pages:	228
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

Brice F. Harris has a PhD in International Relations from the University of Reading.

Table of Contents

Introduction Part I On Conflict and Culture: A Theoretical Exposition. The American Strategic Approach: A Functional Analysis. The American Strategic Approach: A Cultural Analysis Part II The American Strategic Approach: A Clausewitzian Analysis. The Iraq War in Context Bibliography

Editorial Reviews

'...a well-conceived, well-researched, well-written book.'
Survival

From the Publisher