clausewitzs puzzle the political theory of war may 2007

[...]... that these three components of ‘trinitarian war are only examples of the use of the more fundamental Trinity for Clausewitz These examples of its use can be applied meaningfully to some historical and political situations, as Summers demonstrated for the case of the war in Vietnam with the unbridgeable gap between the people, the army, and the government of the USA Notwithstanding the possibility of. .. Waterloo as the three decisive points at which these elements in Clausewitz’s political theory can be grasped most clearly Of course, some aspects of his theory of war are associated with other places, especially the Battle of Leipzig, the experiences of the battles of Borodino and the Berezina, the campaign in Spain, and some of Napoleon’s earlier victories However, I am convinced that these three... over the Prussian forces at Jena and Auerstedt in 1806 were so overwhelming and comprehensive that they led to the collapse of a whole conception of the world Moscow (1812) was the turning point of the Napoleonic Wars The Battle of Waterloo (1815) was the final battle of the wars of liberation and a total defeat for Napoleon All these places are associated with the name of one man: Napoleon In the beginning... advent of a new era of civil wars, non-state wars, and social anarchy Sun Tzu’s The Art of War seemed to offer a better understanding of these kinds of war, because he lived in an era of never-ending civil wars.13 Secondly, the reason for the change from Clausewitz to Sun Tzu is connected with the ‘revolution in military affairs’ The concepts of Strategic Information Warfare (SIW) and fourth generation warfare... for the problems that have arisen afterwards 8 Clausewitz’s Puzzle And this is exactly the problem Sun Tzu’s The Art of War, as well as the theoreticians of SIW and fourth generation warfare, lack the political dimension with respect to the situation after the war. 16 They concentrate too much on purely military success, and undervalue the process of transforming military success into true victory The. .. tendencies of which war is made up The Trinity is given consideration under the heading: The consequences for theory (89) Chapter 1 of On War, and the Trinity as Clausewitz’s result4 for theory at its end, are an attempt to summarize these quite different war experiences, and to analyse and describe a general theory of war on the basis of Napoleon’s successes, the limitations of his strategy, and his final... Napoleon In the beginning there was Napoleon.23 For Clausewitz, however, Napoleon, the ‘god of war , stood both at the beginning and at the end of his lifelong study of the theory of war The literature in this field is united in its assessment that Napoleon’s successful way of waging war had a significant influence on Clausewitz’s theory However, no one has yet asked how Clausewitz’s theory dealt with Napoleon’s... Clausewitz’s Puzzle 4 The primacy of defence as the stronger form of war, versus the promise of decisive results that was embodied in the seizure of offensive initiative Clausewitz’s final approach is condensed in his Trinity, which comes at the end of Chapter 1 of Book I This is my third basic assumption The Trinity, with all its problems, is the real legacy of Clausewitz and the real beginning of his theory, ... Clausewitz’s interpretation of the reasons for these Prussian defeats changed his conception of the political subject of warfare in a fundamental 18 Clausewitz’s Puzzle way The focus of his analysis was no longer the Prussian state, but the German nation as a subject waging war ‘We wander, orphaned children of a lost fatherland, and see that the lustre of the state we served, the state we helped to form,... extreme as the goal, ideal, and natural course taken by the conduct of war as it at that time was technically possible and socially acceptable The early Clausewitz understood the expansion of war and the orientation of the conduct of war towards its absolute form as a way of achieving military success The tendency towards unrestrained violence, as a method and instrument for the conduct of war, was something . and the advent of a new era of civil wars, non-state wars, and social anarchy. Sun Tzu ’s The Art of War seemed to offer a better understanding of these kinds of war, because he lived in an era of. problem. Sun Tzu’s The Art of War, aswellas the theoreticians of SIW and fourth generation warfare, lack the political dimension with respect to the situation after the war. 16 They concen- trate. leading to the limitation of war 52 2.5. The conflict between the interactions to the extreme and to limited war 58 2.6. The contrasting tendencies in the nature of war 66 3. Concepts of Absolute