Grand strategy

Grand strategy or high strategy is a state's strategy of how means (military and nonmilitary) can be used to advance and achieve national interests in the long-term.^[1]^[2]^[3] Issues of grand strategy typically include the choice of military doctrine, force structure and alliances, as well as economic relations, diplomatic behavior, and methods to extract or mobilize resources.

In contrast to strategy, grand strategy encompasses more than military means (such as diplomatic and economic means); does not equate success with purely military victory but also the pursuit of peacetime goals and prosperity; and considers goals and interests in the long-term rather than short-term.^[4]^[5]

In contrast to foreign policy, grand strategy emphasizes the military implications of policy; considers costs benefits of policies, as well as limits on capabilities; establishes priorities; and sets out a practical plan rather than a set of ambitions and wishes.^[6]^[7]^[8] A country's political leadership typically directs grand strategy with input from the most senior military officials. Development of a nation's grand strategy may extend across many years or even multiple generations.

Much scholarship on grand strategy focuses on the United States, which has since the end of World War II had a grand strategy oriented around primacy, "deep engagement", and/or liberal hegemony, which entail that the United States maintains military predominance; maintains an extensive network of allies (exemplified by NATO, bilateral alliances and foreign US military bases); and integrates other states into US-designed international institutions (such as the IMF, WTO/GATT and World Bank).^[9]^[10]^[11] Critics of this grand strategy, which includes proponents for offshore balancing, selective engagement, restraint, and isolationism, argue for pulling back.

Daniel Assamah and Shaoyu Yuan, challenge the prevailing notion that only great powers are capable of having grand strategies. They found that smaller states like Rwanda can, and do, deploy national resources in response to external challenges and opportunities, which is a hallmark of grand strategy. This approach is influenced by the country's historical memory and involves a complex interplay of military, economic, and diplomatic tools tailored to the specific context of Rwanda.^[12]

^ Balzacq, Thierry; Krebs, Ronald R., eds. (2021). The Oxford Handbook of Grand Strategy. Oxford University Press. pp. 2–4. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198840299.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-19-884029-9.
^ Silove, Nina (2018). "Beyond the Buzzword: The Three Meanings of 'Grand Strategy'". Security Studies. 27 (1): 27–57. doi:10.1080/09636412.2017.1360073. hdl:1885/251092. S2CID 148878803.
^ Gray, Colin: War, Peace and International Relations: An Introduction to Strategic History, Abingdon and New York City: Routledge 2007, p. 283.
^ Cite error: The named reference :4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Brooks, Stephen G.; Wohlforth, William Curti (2016). America Abroad: The United States' Global Role in the 21st Century. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-046425-7.^{[page needed]}
^ Posen, Barry R. (1984). The Sources of Military Doctrine: France, Britain, and Germany between the World Wars. Cornell University Press. pp. 13–25. ISBN 978-0-8014-1633-0. JSTOR 10.7591/j.ctt1287fp3.
^ Betts, Richard K. (2019). "The Grandiosity of Grand Strategy". The Washington Quarterly. 42 (4): 7–22. doi:10.1080/0163660X.2019.1663061. ISSN 0163-660X. S2CID 214452544.
^ Freedman, Lawrence D. (2018-08-13). "On Grand Strategy". Foreign Affairs. No. September/October 2018. ISSN 0015-7120.
^ Brooks, Stephen G.; Wohlforth, William C. (2016). America Abroad: The United States' Global Role in the 21st Century. Oxford University Press. pp. 73–77. ISBN 978-0-19-046425-7.
^ Desch, Michael C. (2007). "America's Liberal Illiberalism: The Ideological Origins of Overreaction in U.S. Foreign Policy". International Security. 32 (3): 7–43. doi:10.1162/isec.2008.32.3.7. ISSN 0162-2889. JSTOR 30130517. S2CID 57572097.
^ Ikenberry, G. John (2001). After Victory: Institutions, Strategic Restraint, and the Rebuilding of Order After Major Wars. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-05091-1.
^ Assamah, Daniel; Yuan, Shaoyu (January 2023). "Can Smaller Powers Have Grand Strategies? The Case of Rwanda". Insight on Africa. 15 (1): 108–127. doi:10.1177/09750878221135074. ISSN 0975-0878.

[:0-1] Balzacq, Thierry; Krebs, Ronald R., eds. (2021). The Oxford Handbook of Grand Strategy. Oxford University Press. pp. 2–4. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198840299.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-19-884029-9.

[2] Silove, Nina (2018). "Beyond the Buzzword: The Three Meanings of 'Grand Strategy'". Security Studies. 27 (1): 27–57. doi:10.1080/09636412.2017.1360073. hdl:1885/251092. S2CID 148878803.

[3] Gray, Colin: War, Peace and International Relations: An Introduction to Strategic History, Abingdon and New York City: Routledge 2007, p. 283.

[:4-4] Cite error: The named reference :4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[5] Brooks, Stephen G.; Wohlforth, William Curti (2016). America Abroad: The United States' Global Role in the 21st Century. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-046425-7.^{[page needed]}

[6] Posen, Barry R. (1984). The Sources of Military Doctrine: France, Britain, and Germany between the World Wars. Cornell University Press. pp. 13–25. ISBN 978-0-8014-1633-0. JSTOR 10.7591/j.ctt1287fp3.

[7] Betts, Richard K. (2019). "The Grandiosity of Grand Strategy". The Washington Quarterly. 42 (4): 7–22. doi:10.1080/0163660X.2019.1663061. ISSN 0163-660X. S2CID 214452544.

[8] Freedman, Lawrence D. (2018-08-13). "On Grand Strategy". Foreign Affairs. No. September/October 2018. ISSN 0015-7120.

[9] Brooks, Stephen G.; Wohlforth, William C. (2016). America Abroad: The United States' Global Role in the 21st Century. Oxford University Press. pp. 73–77. ISBN 978-0-19-046425-7.

[:7-10] Desch, Michael C. (2007). "America's Liberal Illiberalism: The Ideological Origins of Overreaction in U.S. Foreign Policy". International Security. 32 (3): 7–43. doi:10.1162/isec.2008.32.3.7. ISSN 0162-2889. JSTOR 30130517. S2CID 57572097.

[:22-11] Ikenberry, G. John (2001). After Victory: Institutions, Strategic Restraint, and the Rebuilding of Order After Major Wars. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-05091-1.

[12] Assamah, Daniel; Yuan, Shaoyu (January 2023). "Can Smaller Powers Have Grand Strategies? The Case of Rwanda". Insight on Africa. 15 (1): 108–127. doi:10.1177/09750878221135074. ISSN 0975-0878.

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