Notion of Victory: a Theory And
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
CRANFIELD UNIVERSITY CRANFIELD DEFENCE AND SECURITY DEPARTMENT OF APPLIED SCIENCE, SECURITY AND RESILIENCE PhD Thesis Academic Year 2008 – 2009 Brigadier Mohammad Iftikhar Zaidi THE CONDUCT OF WAR AND THE NOTION OF VICTORY: A THEORY AND DEFINITION OF VICTORY Supervisor: Professor Christopher D. Bellamy August 2009 This thesis is submitted in fulfilment of the requirement for Doctorate of Philosophy. © Cranfield University 2009, all rights reserved. No part if this publication may be reproduced without the written permission of the copyright holder. ~i~ ~ii~ ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS It was an honour and a privilege to be part of the Cranfield Defence and Security research community. I have the most profound admiration for all those directly or indirectly associated with my research for their support and guidance that was essential for steering me through the many challenges I confronted. First and foremost I wish to acknowledge Prof. Christopher Bellamy, my research supervisor, for the encouragement, guidance and direction I enjoyed from the very beginning through to the culmination of this research; Dr Laura Cleary, the research director, for her astute advice and continuous support and of course, a special mention of Prof. Richard Holmes, who has been a major inspiration throughout my academic pursuits. Cranfield University provided the most congenial environment for research. I had the opportunity to interact with many bright minds; not all find a mention here but are acknowledged most humbly for enriching my research and making my stay pleasant. The support team at the Security Studies Institute deserves a separate mention. The entire administrative team which was initially headed by Steph Muir and later Anne Harbour were more than forthcoming in providing all kinds of assistance and, on many occasions, going out of their way. Many of my colleagues have also been a source of influence and inspiration. Meriting special mention are the Commandants of the Command and Staff College, Quetta: Major General Mohsin Kamal, Major General Ahmed Shuja Pasha and Major General Khalid Nawaz Khan and from the National Defence University Major General Shahid Iqbal. I thank them for their trust and confidence in me, for facilitating my research and sharing their wisdom. I owe the deepest gratitude to all my family and friends for their support and encouragement with a special mention for Kristine for her most valuable moral, intellectual and physical support as well as help in printing and distributing the final thesis; Tanveer for volunteering to give the final document a second proof read and share her impressions on the research. Last but not least my mother, who has always inspired me to seek knowledge and excel. ~iii~ ~iv~ DEDICATION To my mother For all her toil, hard work, prayers and affection. In twinkling of an eye1 And hiding the sun in sandy mist The gale came down with paces swift And cloaked the summer’s day like purple night Without reflection! What is dark and what is bright? W. F.Hussain (ca. 1952) ~v~ ~vi~ ABSTRACT Clausewitz described military victory as a condition where the enemy‘s ability to enter battle, resist or resume hostilities is destroyed. The notion summarises the paradigms of success that preceded Clausewitz and survived through much of the 20th century. Is such a doctrine of victory still valid? The short answer is ‗no‘; and yet, despite increasingly paradoxical outcomes, military planners, strategists and statesmen continually seek answers for their failures in variously perceived causative influences. Few question the validity of the Clausewitzian doctrine of victory that drove their initiatives. The rapid transformation in society and international culture has brought with it changes in geo-political and geo-economic relationships as well as warfare. While the traditional linkages between war and politics remain, the mechanisms driving these have altered. In less than ‗absolute wars,‘ it is the wider bargain and the stakes in that bargain that make the ‗enemy do our will‘ and not purely the opposition‘s inability to enter battle, resist or resume hostilities. The complexities surrounding contemporary war, diplomacy and strategy necessitate an organising theory to make better sense of policy and action. War is ultimately a violent clash of societies and its character a reflection of opposing cultures, history and experiences. An external dimension to strategy is thus always at work even if not fully recognised; as is often the case. Such un-factored influences create a sort of volatility in victory and defeat adding new challenges while offering opportunities at the same time. Similarly, diplomacy, which invariably precedes and succeeds coercive or compelling use of violence, too is fettered by such external influences. A bivariate approach that triangulates desired ends with the opposing notions of success and perception of defeat is argued. The theory presented here encapsulates traditional precepts, adds new ones and simplifies the complexities that have come to surround victory in contemporary times. Offered here are some valuable ingredient to flavour any strategic recipe, not just war and conflict. The eternal challenge of calibrating means and ends needed more systematic awareness of functional and dominant domains of victory which, it is argued, is possible through application of simple principles. The theory potentially allows for a more focused, proportionate, efficient and productive use of power. It is hoped that strategists and analysts alike, would find here new concepts and tools for use in praxis, perspective planning and retrospective analyses. ~vii~ ~viii~ TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..........................................................................................................................III DEDICATION ........................................................................................................................................... V ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................................ VII TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................................................. IX LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................................................. XIII LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................................................... XIV LIST OF MAPS AND FRAMES ................................................................................................................ XIV LIST OF EQUATIONS ............................................................................................................................. XV GLOSSARY OF TERMS AND ACRONYMS ............................................................................................. XVII EXPLANATION OF TERMS .............................................................................................................................. XVII LIST OF ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS ....................................................................................................... XXIII CHAPTER I – INTRODUCTION, BACKGROUND AND METHODOLOGY ....................................................... 1 SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................. 1 SECTION 2: BACKGROUND ............................................................................................................................... 2 Why does ‘Victory’ need a Theory and Definition? .............................................................................. 2 Aims, Objectives and Scope .................................................................................................................. 5 SECTION 3 – METHODOLOGY AND RESEARCH METHODS ....................................................................................... 9 The Nature of the Study ....................................................................................................................... 9 Why Grounded Theory? ....................................................................................................................... 9 Application of Grounded Theory Approach ........................................................................................ 10 Research Design ................................................................................................................................. 10 Data Flow and Intra-chapter Relationship ......................................................................................... 12 ORGANISATION OF THE THESIS ....................................................................................................................... 13 CHAPTER II – LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................................................................ 17 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................... 17 SECTION 1: MILITARY VICTORY ....................................................................................................................... 19 The Victory Condition ......................................................................................................................... 19 The