The poverty of power in military power: how collective power could benefit strategic studies |
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Authors: | Jan Angstrom Peter Haldén |
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Affiliation: | Department of Security, Strategy and Leadership, Swedish Defence University, Stockholm, Sweden |
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Abstract: | Strategic studies deals intimately with the topic of power. Most scholars in the discipline work with a concept of power as an adversarial zero-sum competition. This is natural and necessary. However, other conceptions of power developed within political science and sociology could enrich strategic studies. Approaching two typical, traditional tasks of strategy – alliance building and war-fighting – this article demonstrates the heuristic mileage of theories of collective power. In particular, we can shed new light on the post-Cold War transformation of NATO as well as state-building as a strategy in counter-insurgencies with new ideas of power. Broadening the palette of theories of power is thus valuable if strategic studies is to prosper as an independent field of study. |
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Keywords: | Power strategic studies NATO state-building strategy |
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