Prime-Time for Strategic Culture
Question: What are some of the main characteristics of American strategic culture and what are some of the key events in our history that have shaped that culture?
Leading Like a Gardener
Q. Do you agree/disagree with the concept of "leading like a gardener?" Explain your answer.
Cultural differences enable us to see the world from a unique perspective when interacting with a co-worker, a friend, a neighbor or even your own children. Cultural awareness cannot be learned overnight or completely understood unless you're fully emerged. *Remove: (I would compare basic cultural understanding to reading a book on "How to swim" but never really touching the water or swimming, but that also depends on what lurks beneath the water.) Cultural understanding is vital to positive and long lasting interactions with friends or foe's regardless of intentions or perceived outcomes.
ReplyDeleteI believe that culture derives from deep-rooted values pass down to each generation for centuries, these values and beliefs are influenced by demographics, political, and social-cultural affinity. Culture evolves due to wrinkles in time and these events are either internal or external influences, war, violence, technology advances or just out of pure necessity.
The main characteristics of American Strategic Culture blossom from our values and the belief of individual freedom, equality of rights, majority rule, progress, enterprise, the rule of law and the strict limits of the states. Two world wars, Vietnam and the U.S. - Russian nuclear stand-off is just a brief look back at a few key events in our history which shaped our current strategic culture. Strategic culture should be viewed as cause and effect by looking at the small pieces of the puzzle to see the big picture.
Thanks,
CW2 Ott
Avenger Company
Great thoughts Matilda! You're on it!
ReplyDeleteThe reason American strategic culture is compelling to me is that when you understand its core elements, it becomes far easier to understand the overall concept of strategic culture and frame a foreign culture in useful and practical ways. That said, it is not a panacea as Gray points out.
Some characteristics of American strategic culture include the notion that the wars we fight should be fairly short and result in our total victory through annihilation. WWII is the classic example, but we would prefer something more like the Gulf War given our impatience as Americans. Total war, characterized by unlimited ends and means (e.g. WWII, Civil War), enables the full might of our nation’s resources and is preferred to long and limited wars characterized by limited ends and means (e.g. Korea, Afghanistan). American resources (e.g. financial, raw materials, etc.) are really the great enabler of our strategic culture.
American strategic culture tends to view conflict through a moral lens. We fight and endure for what we see being right. The Northern view (e.g. unification, abolition, etc.) in the Civil War is a classic example of a "right" moral cause whereas Vietnam is the classic example of where that moral high ground was lost.
Casualties and alignment to American will is also a strong characteristic. When American will (e.g. the public) aligns with the “ends” of a conflict, Americans are far more likely to accept casualties than when that’s not the case. The influence of our democracy plays a unique role in American strategic culture.
Some of the major historical events that have shaped American strategic culture include the founding of our nation and the issues that supported our independence (e.g. freedom of speech, religion, etc.); our democratic structure; slavery and the Civil War; the industrial age and rise of American capitalism throughout the world; WWI & II; the rise of America as a global superpower; Korea and Vietnam; the fall of the Soviet Union; and 9/11... just to name a few.