Strategic Studies
A.Y. 2023/2024
Learning objectives
The Strategic Studies course aims to provide students with the elements necessary to understand the nature and rationale for using military force in the realm of international politics. Teaching focuses on the concepts underlying Strategy (intended as the link between the political interests of actors in the international arena and the use of military force).
More specifically, the course will define the "spectrum" of strategic action (deterrence/compellence/war) and will specify the levels with which military force is applied (tactical and strategic) and the primary domains of warfare (technological, logistical, social, operational). Teaching will also reconstruct how military practice and strategic theory (the cornerstones of military thought) have influenced each other in the contemporary era, and will outline the tenets of naval and air warfare (conventional and nuclear) Finally, the course will highlight the progression of Strategy since the end of the Cold War, focusing on debate surrounding the "Revolution in Military Affairs", the advent of cyberwar, trends in irregular warfare (guerrilla warfare, armed insurgencies) and hybrid warfare.
More specifically, the course will define the "spectrum" of strategic action (deterrence/compellence/war) and will specify the levels with which military force is applied (tactical and strategic) and the primary domains of warfare (technological, logistical, social, operational). Teaching will also reconstruct how military practice and strategic theory (the cornerstones of military thought) have influenced each other in the contemporary era, and will outline the tenets of naval and air warfare (conventional and nuclear) Finally, the course will highlight the progression of Strategy since the end of the Cold War, focusing on debate surrounding the "Revolution in Military Affairs", the advent of cyberwar, trends in irregular warfare (guerrilla warfare, armed insurgencies) and hybrid warfare.
Expected learning outcomes
Upon completion of the course, students will have a firm grasp of the military dimension of international relations and the reasoning for strategic action by international political actors. Students will also be able to distinguish between the different levels of military force deployed (tactical and strategic), know the concepts of deterrence, identify the major facets of warfare (logistics, operational technology, social), highlight the interaction between the different geostrategic arenas of war (land, sea, air, cyberspace) and understand the specificities of regular, irregular and hybrid warfare.
By understanding Strategy, students will add a valuable element to their body of knowledge acquired during their studies in International Relations and will significantly enhance their ability to read and interpret events in international politics, in addition to benefiting them as they continue along their study or career path in the international arena.
By understanding Strategy, students will add a valuable element to their body of knowledge acquired during their studies in International Relations and will significantly enhance their ability to read and interpret events in international politics, in addition to benefiting them as they continue along their study or career path in the international arena.
Lesson period: Third trimester
Assessment methods: Esame
Assessment result: voto verbalizzato in trentesimi
Single course
This course cannot be attended as a single course. Please check our list of single courses to find the ones available for enrolment.
Course syllabus and organization
Single session
Responsible
Lesson period
Third trimester
Course syllabus
- Fundamental concepts of strategy
- The relationship between war and politics
- The levels of application of military force (tactical, operational, strategic), the principal dimensions of warfare (technological, logistic, social, operative), and the "spectre" of the use of military force (war proper-compellence-deterrence).
- Napoleon and birth of modern strategy
- Napoleon and the evolution of military thought: Jomini and Clausewitz
- First World War and the crisis of the Napoleonic paradigm
- Liddell Hart and the indirect approach
- Naval Strategy
- Air Strategy
- Nuclear Strategy
- Irregular Warfare
- Strategic thought and military practice after the End of the Cold War (cybwerwar, hybrid war, strategic air power)
- The relationship between war and politics
- The levels of application of military force (tactical, operational, strategic), the principal dimensions of warfare (technological, logistic, social, operative), and the "spectre" of the use of military force (war proper-compellence-deterrence).
- Napoleon and birth of modern strategy
- Napoleon and the evolution of military thought: Jomini and Clausewitz
- First World War and the crisis of the Napoleonic paradigm
- Liddell Hart and the indirect approach
- Naval Strategy
- Air Strategy
- Nuclear Strategy
- Irregular Warfare
- Strategic thought and military practice after the End of the Cold War (cybwerwar, hybrid war, strategic air power)
Prerequisites for admission
Basic knowledge of International Relations and Contemporary history is presumed
Teaching methods
Lectures
Teaching Resources
Attending students:
Lecture notes
P. Paret (a cura di), Guerra e strategia nell'età contemporanea, Marietti, Genova-Milano, 1992
- C. Stefanachi, 'Guerra indolore'. Dottrine, illusioni e retoriche della guerra limitata, Vita e Pensiero, Milano, 2011
One text of student's choice among the following:
- K. Von Clausewitz, Della guerra (ed.ridotta), Einaudi, Torino, 2000
- B. Liddell Hart, Paride o il futuro della guerra, Libreria Editrice Goriziana, Gorizia, 2007
- G. Douhet, Il dominio dell'aria, in Il domino dell'aria e altri saggi, Aeronautica Militare, Ufficio Storico, Roma, 2002, pp.5-171
- S. Biddle, J.A. Friedmanm The 2006 Lebanon Campaign and the Future of Warfare: Implications for Army and Defense Policy, USAWC Press, 2008
- M. Galeotti, Russian Political War. Moving Beyond the Hybrid, Routledge, 2019.
- J. Arquilla, Bitskrieg. The New Challenhe of Cyberwarfare, Polity Press, 2021.
Not attending students:
- P. Paret (a cura di), Guerra e strategia nell'età contemporanea, Marietti, Genova-Milano, 1992
- C. Stefanachi, 'Guerra indolore'. Dottrine, illusioni e retoriche della guerra limitata, Vita e Pensiero, Milano, 2011
- G. Breccia, L'arte della guerriglia, Il Mulino, Bologna, 2013
One text of students' choice among the following:
- K. Von Clausewitz, Della guerra (ed.ridotta), Einaudi, Torino, 2000
- B. Liddell Hart, Paride o il futuro della guerra, Libreria Editrice Goriziana, Gorizia, 2007
- G. Douhet, Il dominio dell'aria, in Il domino dell'aria e altri saggi, Aeronautica Militare, Ufficio Storico, Roma, 2002, pp.5-171
- S. Biddle, J.A. Friedmanm The 2006 Lebanon Campaign and the Future of Warfare: Implications for Army and Defense Policy, USAWC Press, 2008
- M. Galeotti, Russian Political War. Moving Beyond the Hybrid, Routledge, 2019.
- J. Arquilla, Bitskrieg. The New Challenhe of Cyberwarfare, Polity Press, 2021.
Lecture notes
P. Paret (a cura di), Guerra e strategia nell'età contemporanea, Marietti, Genova-Milano, 1992
- C. Stefanachi, 'Guerra indolore'. Dottrine, illusioni e retoriche della guerra limitata, Vita e Pensiero, Milano, 2011
One text of student's choice among the following:
- K. Von Clausewitz, Della guerra (ed.ridotta), Einaudi, Torino, 2000
- B. Liddell Hart, Paride o il futuro della guerra, Libreria Editrice Goriziana, Gorizia, 2007
- G. Douhet, Il dominio dell'aria, in Il domino dell'aria e altri saggi, Aeronautica Militare, Ufficio Storico, Roma, 2002, pp.5-171
- S. Biddle, J.A. Friedmanm The 2006 Lebanon Campaign and the Future of Warfare: Implications for Army and Defense Policy, USAWC Press, 2008
- M. Galeotti, Russian Political War. Moving Beyond the Hybrid, Routledge, 2019.
- J. Arquilla, Bitskrieg. The New Challenhe of Cyberwarfare, Polity Press, 2021.
Not attending students:
- P. Paret (a cura di), Guerra e strategia nell'età contemporanea, Marietti, Genova-Milano, 1992
- C. Stefanachi, 'Guerra indolore'. Dottrine, illusioni e retoriche della guerra limitata, Vita e Pensiero, Milano, 2011
- G. Breccia, L'arte della guerriglia, Il Mulino, Bologna, 2013
One text of students' choice among the following:
- K. Von Clausewitz, Della guerra (ed.ridotta), Einaudi, Torino, 2000
- B. Liddell Hart, Paride o il futuro della guerra, Libreria Editrice Goriziana, Gorizia, 2007
- G. Douhet, Il dominio dell'aria, in Il domino dell'aria e altri saggi, Aeronautica Militare, Ufficio Storico, Roma, 2002, pp.5-171
- S. Biddle, J.A. Friedmanm The 2006 Lebanon Campaign and the Future of Warfare: Implications for Army and Defense Policy, USAWC Press, 2008
- M. Galeotti, Russian Political War. Moving Beyond the Hybrid, Routledge, 2019.
- J. Arquilla, Bitskrieg. The New Challenhe of Cyberwarfare, Polity Press, 2021.
Assessment methods and Criteria
The final evaluation is based on an oral examination to test the students' ability to present the fundamental concepts of strategy, their knowledge of the classics of strategic thought and of military history. The examination consist of an interview based on 3-4 questions.
Modulo
SPS/04 - POLITICAL SCIENCE - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Modulo
SPS/04 - POLITICAL SCIENCE - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Educational website(s)
Professor(s)