What Is Strategy in War?
by John Spencer, by Liam Collins
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05.09.2025 at 06:00am
What Is Strategy in War? Image
In both popular discourse and professional military circles, few terms are more misused than “strategy.” It is invoked to describe everything from battlefield maneuvers to national policy, often without clarity or consistency. As military historian Hew Strachan warned in The Lost Meaning of Strategy, the word has become so elastic that it risks losing all analytical value. Too often, strategy is confused with a plan, a clever idea, or even just decisive action. But in war, strategy is something far more foundational—and far more consequential. It is not about how militaries fight, but why they fight, what they aim to achieve, and how armed force serves political purpose.
In the civilian world, “strategy” is often used interchangeably with planning—marketing strategies, business strategies, campaign strategies. But in the realm of statecraft and war, this understanding is far too narrow. Despite Strachan’s call for conceptual precision, even within the field of strategic studies, no universally accepted definition exists. Consider some of the leading definitions cited in Strategy in the Contemporary World:
“(is) the use of engagements for the object of war.” — Carl von Clausewitz
“the art of distributing and applying military means to fulfill the ends of policy.” — Basil Liddell Hart
“a process, a constant adaptation to shifting conditions and circumstances in a world where chance, uncertainty, and ambiguity dominate.” — Williamson Murray and Mark Grimsley
Harry Yarger, in his influential paper Toward a Theory of Strategy: Art Lykke and the Army War College Strategy Model, cautioned against reducing “strategy” to a mere catchall for plans. He argued that strategy belongs to the realm of senior leadership and is defined by the comprehensive direction and coordination of power to achieve political ends. Strategy, in his formulation, is about aligning national instruments of power to shape a preferred future—not just reacting to crisis but anticipating and influencing it.
https://smallwarsjournal.com/2025/05/09/what-is-strategy-in-war/
