The Elements of Strategic Thinking

Abstract

“I am more afraid of our own blunders than of the enemy's devices.” So, reportedly, said the Athenian leader Pericles in 431 BCE, on the eve of war with Sparta and its allies in the Peloponnesian League (Strassler 1996: 83–84). Among the most serious blunders that a political leader can make is to embark upon a major policy initiative without a coherent plan for the coordinated use of the resources that a state possesses for achieving its goals. As illustrated by the ill-fated Sicilian expedition launched by the Athenians more than a decade after Pericles' death, foreign policy undertakings divorced from strategic thinking about the relationship between means and ends are unlikely to be successful. Arguing that “strategic thinking is far too useful to be limited to military subjects” (p. 4), Terry Deibel has written a guide on how to think strategically about foreign affairs. Given that the majority of texts on contemporary American foreign policy concentrate on the sources of policy proposals and the dynamics of the policy-making process, his focus on designing foreign affairs strategy is a welcome addition to the literature. To be sure, some current texts have chapters on military coercion and economic sanctions, but few delve into the strategic logic that links national values and interests to instruments of statecraft for dealing with international threats and opportunities. Indeed, the dearth of such books is surprising given the academic community's frequent expressions of concern about being policy relevant.