Strategy in the Contemporary World

Bringing together international experts to provide a comprehensive introduction to strategic studies, Strategy in the Contemporary World, Sixth Edition, is the only overview to critically engage with both enduring and contemporary issues that dominate strategy. Readers are encouraged to explore key debates and alternative perspectives throughout the chapters. A boxed "Debates" feature considers key controversies and presents opposing arguments, helping students to build critical thinking skills and reflect upon a wide range of perspectives.

The new edition has been thoroughly updated to incorporate the latest developments in the field of strategic studies. A new Chapter 19, "The West and the Rest," explores the limitations and problems strategic studies face when dealing with security challenges in the Global South, stressing the importance of diversity in the field and the important contributions the non-Western world has made to international relations theories and concepts. Chapter 14, "Geography and Strategy" considers important developments in air power, maritime strategy and the rapid expansion of space and cyber warfare.

This text is supported by fully updated online resources, to encourage deeper engagement with content.

For students:

Case studies help to contextualise and deepen understanding of key issues

Web links and further reading provide students with opportunities to deepen their understanding of main topics and explore further areas of research interest

For instructors:

Customizable PowerPoint slides to ensure clarity of explanation of key concepts and debates

Test Bank to reinforce key concepts and test students' understanding

Seminar activities to ensure effective and engaging class discussion

John Baylis, Emeritus Professor of Politics and International Relations, Swansea University,James Wirtz, Dean of the School of International Graduate Studies, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California,Colin Gray, Emeritus Professor of Strategic Studies, University of Reading

John Baylis is Emeritus Professor of Politics and International Relations and a former Pro-Vice Chancellor at Swansea University. His books include Anglo-American Defence Relations 1939-1984 (Macmillan, 1984); Alternative Nuclear Futures: The Role of Nuclear Weapons in the Post-Cold War World, with Robert O'Neill (OUP, 2000); The Makers of Nuclear Strategy, with John Garnett (Pinter,1991); The Globalization of World Politics, with Steve Smith and Patricia Owens (7th Edition, OUP, 2017); An Introduction to Global Politics, with Steven Lamy, Steve Smith and Patricia Owens (4th. Edition, OUP, 2016); and The British Nuclear Experience: The Role of Beliefs, Culture and Identity, with Kristan Stoddart (OUP, 2015). He is currently working on Wales and the Bomb: The Role of Welsh Scientists and Engineers in the Development of British Nuclear Weapons to be published by the University of Wales Press in 2018.



James J. Wirtz is the Dean of the School of International Graduate Studies, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California. He is the co-editor of Intelligence: The Secret World of Spies 5th ed. (Oxford University Press, 2018) and the author of Understanding Intelligence Failure: Warning response and deterrence (Routledge 2017).

Colin S. Gray is Emeritus Professor of Strategic Studies at the University of Reading. He has advised the American and British Governments for many years. Among his books are a trilogy on strategy with Oxford University Press: The Strategy Bridge: Theory for Practice 2010); Perspectives on Strategy (2013); and Strategy and Defence Planning: Meeting the Challenge of Uncertainty (2014).

Introduction: Strategy in the Contemporary World: Strategy after 9/11 John Baylis and James J. Wirtz
Part I: Enduring Issues of Strategy
1. The History of the Practice of Strategy from Antiquity to Napoleon, Beatrice Heuser
2. The Evolution of Modern Warfare, Michael Sheehan
3. Strategic Theory, Thomas G. Mahnken
4. The Causes of War and the Conditions of Peace, John Garnett and John Baylis
5. Strategic Culture, Jeffrey S. Lantis and Darryl Howlett
6. Law, Politics, and the Use of Force, Justin Morris
7. Technology and Warfare, Eliot A. Cohen
8. Intelligence and Strategy, Roger Z. George
9. Strategy and Defence Planning, Colin S. Gray
Part II: Contemporary Problems
10. Irregular Warfare: Terrorism and Insurgency, James D. Kiras
11. The Second Nuclear Age: Nuclear Weapons in the Twenty-first Century, C. Dale Walton
12. The Control of Weapons of Mass Destruction, John Baylis
13. Conventional Power and Contemporary Warfare, John Ferris
14. Geography and Strategy, Daniel Moran
15. Humanitarian Intervention and Peace Operations, Sheena Chestnut Greitens
16. The Rise of Cyberpower, John B. Sheldon
17. Geopolitics and Grand Strategy, Stefanie Ortmann and Nick Whittaker
Part III: The Future of Strategy
18. Strategic Studies: The West and the Rest, Amitav Acharya and Jiajie He
19. Strategic Studies and its Critics, Columba Peoples
20. A New Agenda for Security and Strategy?, James J. Wirtz
21. The Practice of Strategy, Colin S. Gray and Jeannie L. Johnson
22. Does Strategic Studies Have a Future?, Lawrence Freedman