The Practice of Strategy

John Andreas Olsen is Visiting Professor of Operational Art and Tactics at the Swedish National Defence College. Previously, he was the Dean of the Norwegian Defence University College and Head of its division for Strategic Studies. He is an active-duty colonel in the Norwegian Air Force and a graduate of the German Command and Staff College (2005). Recent assignments include tours as the Norwegian liaison officer to the German Operational Command in Potsdam and as the military assistant to the attaché in Berlin. Olsen has a doctorate in history and international relations from De Montfort University, a master's degree in contemporary British literature and politics from the University of Warwick, and a master's degree in English from the University of Trondheim. He is deputy commander and chief of the NATO Advisory Team at NATO Headquarters, Sarajevo.Colin S. Gray is currently at the Department of International Politics and Strategic Studies at the University of Reading. He has written pioneering and controversial studies on nuclear strategy, arms control, maritime strategy, and geopolitics. He is the author of twenty books, more than 300 articles, and several dozen reports for governments. His most recent publications include Forty Maxims on War, Peace, and Strategy (2007) and The Strategy Bridge: Theory for Practice (2011). He is a strategic theorist and defence analyst at the University of Reading, he has worked in Britain, Canada, and the United States.

• PART I: ANCIENT AND MEDIAEVAL; PART II: MEDIAEVAL AND MODERN; PART III: MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY

The book succeeds in its aim to demonstrate that, while context and character change, and terms, concepts, and doctrines might vary, the nature of strategy endures. David Whetham, War In History This excellent collection of essays is recommended reading for all those who seek to understand strategy and its use. It should be read by those struggling to act effectively with armed force in our present circumstances, and by those who try to comprehend why it is apparently so difficult to do so. The essays show clearly the enduring need for strategy if one is to achieve ones purpose in the face of resistance. Now that we tend to act strategically in multinational groupings while policy remains with the state it is even more important to understand and act on these lessons. General Sir Rupert Smith, former Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe The complexity of contemporary security crises highlights the critical importance of an understanding of the theory and practice of strategy. This book is a clear thinking analysis which is both timely and relevant and I commend it to decision maker and general reader alike. General Sir Richard Shirreff, Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe The art of strategy is the art of generals. Too often it is confused with management, consulting or corporate administration. The Practice of Strategy is a welcome departure from that mode of thinking. There is, and always has been, a vital role in the understanding of the true meaning of strategy. It is the process of achieving the aims of the state, either defending from aggression or exploiting opportunity. As Olsen and Gray put it: Strategy is a how to do it study. Never has that lesson been more welcome. General Sir David Richards, Chief of the Defence Staff, UK