What is Grand Strategy? Does it matter?
Examples of Grand Strategies
Dear readers,
In this short essay I will explore the definition and purpose of a grand strategy, share some grand strategy examples at state-level, and then play a bit with the concept applied at a personal level.
Enjoy!
What is Grand Strategy?
Grand strategy “is the long-term strategy pursued at the highest levels by a nation to further its interests” per Wikipedia.
“Done well, it guides a nation and synchronizes its actions in foreign affairs.” adds Sean McFate, Prof. of Strategy at the National Defense University and Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, in his “The New Rules of War” book.
McFate identifies 5 characteristics of good grand strategies (highlights mine):
1. First, it is not restricted to war and recognizes that war and peace coexist.
2. Second, it is dynamic and flexible, requiring a constant balancing of resources needed to ward off new threats. Grand strategy is not a checklist, but rather a jazz improvisation.
3. Third, it harnesses all of a nation’s instruments of power, not just the military ones.
4. Fourth, it can be offensive or defensive.
5. Fifth — and most important — grand strategy endures over a long time, lasting decades or centuries.
Examples of Grand Strategies
“Containment” Grand Strategy of the USA during the Cold War
(…) had four components:
1. First, it sought to maximize US influence and minimize the USSR’s influence abroad.
2. Second, it avoided direct confrontation with the USSR to avert nuclear war.
3. Third, it tried to prevent a regional “domino effect” favoring the USSR.
4. Fourth, it contained communist expansion through a variety of discrete strategies, such as nuclear deterrence through mutually assured destruction (or “MAD”), security cooperation efforts like NATO, coercive diplomacy, covert operations, proxy wars in places like Korea and Vietnam, the “rollback” of communist governments through regime change, and aiding democratic nations, also known as the Truman Doctrine.
Great Britain’s Grand Strategy which lasted ±400 years
(mid 16th to mid 20th century)
(…) had five elements:
1. Transform the nation into an island fortress.
2. Gain wealth through colonization and commerce abroad.
3. Maintain naval superiority to protect sea lanes and trade;
4. Never get the army cornered on mainland Europe;
5. Keep European rivals down by playing them off one another.
Current “King of the Hill” Grand Strategy of the USA
(…) Its core elements are:
1. Remain the unilateral superpower.
2. Create a “rules-based order” in which the United States sets rules that supports its interests.
3. Shape international organizations and norms to favor US objectives.
4. Preserve military dominance and global force projection to enforce its will.
5. Maintain economic dominance (dollar as global currency).
6. Uphold cultural dominance (English as universal language, awesomeness of the entertainment industry).
7. Promote democracy and free trade.
Does it Matter at a Personal Level?
If we connect the concept of grand strategy to the idea of long-term navigation of an entity (individual, group, organization, nation etc.), then it might have value at a personal level as well.
Are there some deep principles that could guide someone in their long-term (timespan: years — decades) journey of life? Principles that will apply across personal contexts, irrespective of most turbulences, uncertainties and changes that come along the way?
My Grand Strategy
To put these ideas and questions into practice, I’ve reflected on how such deep principles would look like for me. Here’s a draft of my “grand strategy”:
- Invest in learning & creativity.
- Maximize options & free time.
- Do not accumulate surplus money & possessions.
- Gain wisdom & deep, trustful relationships.
- Sense & change.
These principles have been guiding me for a while now, in one form or another, and I feel they’re relevant for me for the next years (medium to long term).
They seem to inter-connect and enable one another as well, creating some unexpected side effects down the road (like experimenting with the self-imposed constraint of 1 day per week dedicated to client work) and a coherent whole connected to what’s important to me.
Each of these principles include an “&” which plays out differently in various contexts, while still inviting strong connections between the elements that each “&” links.
Your Turn
- Does this concept of grand strategy resonate with you, at a personal level?
- If so, how would you define your own grand strategy?
Wish you lots of inspiration,
Bülent
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