Masters of war: Classical strategic thought

(Curso CN Zaragoza) (NCC 2000)

Introduction.-

1. Strategy: Past theories, Modern practice.-

2. Comparing Sun Tzu and Clausewitz.-

3. Sun Tzu, Clausewitz and the study of war.-

4. The definition of War: A question of the level of analysis.-

5. "Attacking the ememy's plans" and the concept of the "Center of gravity": Eastern psychology and Western mechanics.-

6. The primacy of politics and the military commander.-

7. The rational calculus of war: Correlating ends and means.-

8. The first element of the paradoxical trinity: The people in arms.-

9. The ideal and the real: Victory without bloodshed and the search for the decisive battle.-

10.- Numerical superiority and victory.-

11. The principle of continuity and the culminating point of victory: The contradictory nature of war.-

12. Deception, surprise and intelligence.-

13. The role of the military leader.-

14. The Temperament of the Military Leader.-

15. The battle environment and the Intuition of the military leader.-

16. Boldness and calculation.-

17. Conclusions.-

Appendix A: Contradiction and paradox in the theory of war.-

Appendix B: The Weinberger doctrine.-

Appendix C: Clausewitz's ideal-type method applied to Sun Tzu's The Art of War.-

Appendix D: The problem of the level of analysis and the tacticization of strategy.-

Appendix E: Machiavelli and Clausewitz on the role of the people in war.-

Appendix F: Clausewitz and the Principle of concentration.-

Notes.-

Bibliography.-