Strategic Culture

How states go about viewing national security issues and concerns. A direct descendant of political culture, strategic culture is based on the idea that a national style derives logically from the concept of political culture. Grounded in the study of anthropology, political culture says we can understand a particular group by looking at their norms, practices, and values. From that theory comes the notion that a particular culture should encourage a particular style in thought and action. Applied to national interests, including national security, strategic culture suggests that there is a distinct U.S. strategic culture, a distinct Russian strategic culture, and a distinct Chinese strategic culture.

All of these cultures are based on particular ways of thinking and acting on national security issues. For example, a Chinese strategic culture might be based on the political ideas of China as a protective and closed civilization. From that might come a reliance on more regional and defensive methods and technologies. By contrast, the U.S. strategic culture may be based on notions of using many resources and using overwhelming combat power to obtain a victory. This might be based on the experiences of the United States in World War I and World War II, as well as in decisive victories such as in Grenada (1983), Panama (1989), and the Gulf War (1991).

Jack Snyder, one of the prominent theorists in the area of strategic culture, has noted that the socialization process in a particular strategic culture not only inculcates the culture but also provides a basis for seeing future actions. This worldview, in turn, shapes the possibility of reforms and changes. Strategic culture thus has an effect on the development of strategy and tactics in a particular country.

The theory of strategic culture has been criticized as being too determinative and for failing to recognize the role that factionalism and factions play in any society, including the national security and military communities. Yet, it is clear that the culture of anything has an effect on it, its development, and its responses. As a result, experts generally include strategic culture as an element for consideration in any discussion of strategy.