Strategic Theory as an Intellectual System

Strategy constitutes an ‘intellectual system’, where actions and expectations are interrelated. Ideas and actions have meaning and effect in a wider context in which other related parts need to be taken into consideration. Following Freedman, the importance of the social settings must be emphasized to illuminate how deterrence works and what it means. Strategy is about human choices, in given situations, rather than about fate and predestination. And for this reason, the strategist has to assess their own options, as well as those of others, and how these influence one another. This analysis suggests that strategy is an inherently social activity that can never be separated from its social context. It shows the importance of understanding social context in the iterative and interactive world of strategy, and also the relationship between ideas and empirical realities.

Context (archaeology) · Economics · Epistemology · Freedman · Management · Meaning (existential) · Political science · Predestination · Sociology · Strategist · Global and Cross-Cultural Management · Law · Management and Organizational Studies · International Relations · Power (Social sciences) · Strategy · World politics