Intensive War ...not the beginning, not the middle, not the end... Manabrata Guha - BA (Hons), MRes This thesis is submitted in fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in International Relations. University of Lancaster September, 2008 ProQuest Number: 11003479 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 11003479 Published by ProQuest LLC(2018). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 I declare that the work presented in this thesis is the author’s own and has not been previously submitted for the award of a higher degree at any university Date: September, 2008 Signature: ...That moves. That does not move; That is far off, That is very near; That is inside all, and that is outside all... From the Isa Upanishad ...books and bullets have their own destiny... Quoted in Ernst Junger, A Storm of Steel Table of Contents... Acknowledgments Abstract List of Diagrams List of Abbreviations Chapter One: On How to Read this Thesis • In Difference and Repetition with War 1 • NCW: So, where's the 'beef? 14 • On What is at stake 22 • Locating the Study 26 • A minoritarian tactic 36 • Possible Critiques 52 • Outline of the Study 65 Chapter Two: The Architectonic of War Section One • A Historico-Philosophical Background 71 • Classical Military Theory - A Juridico-Political Overview 80 r V tv ^ dfff'1 fte#1 r| ^ Classical Military Theory-An Evolutionary Overview 89 A Kehr to the In-Human 95 Mind(ing) the Gap: Between Guibert and Jomini 105 • Jomini's Science and Art of War 112 • A Preliminary Assessment 119 Interlude: Prelude to Clausewitz 130 Section Two vj > / ■ • A Kantian Intervention V 134 / "70 • The Romance of Clausewitz \ 142 o Clausewitz, Methodologizing... ‘ / 144 v' (*' ' o Clausewitz, Theorizing... 150 o Clausewitz, Strategizing... 155 • (deconstructing War, absolutely...really... 158 • The Mesh and the Net, architectonically speaking... 174 • In Fortuna's Camp 181 o The Face o f Chance 192 o Strategizing Chance 205 • Clausewitz: Q. E. D. 233 Chapter Three: Machining (Network-Centric) War • Behind the Network Paradise 235 • Semantic Implications of Network-Centric Warfare 238 • The Technologization of Discourse 245 • At the Edge o f Chaos... 257 • Complexity and Non-Linearity in the context of War(fare) 261 • On Networks... 267 • On Netwars... 275 • A New Strategic Commons: A Wide-Angle View ofNCW 282 • Two Orders of Strategy 295 o First Order... 297 o Second Order... 314 • NCW:...and here is the 'beef... 321 ^Interlude: War and Clausewitz in the Age of Networks \ / 328 Chapter Four: Intensive War > • A Signature of the World 341 • In an Other theatre of War (with Deleuze) 347 o Rhizomes: A Concept of Operations on planes of immanence 350 o Planes of Immanence: Becoming-Battlespace 360 o Assemblages and Apparatuses of battle 369 V Interlude: One False Step: On War and War Machines 379 ./ • ...and when the walls fall down... 394 Postscript: On How Not to Read This Thesis 422 Bibliography Acknowledgments While some texts claim to be written by authors, others write themselves. In the latter case, they are literally instances of an assemblage of an infinite number of forces. This thesis is an example and an instance of the latter condition. One of the primary forces, indeed, the primary force that has co-constituted this thesis is Prof. Michael Dillon without whose help and intellectual insight, this work would have remained as merely an unwritten figment of imagination. There has been many a moment when I have found myself floundering at the deep end - when Nietzsche’s Abyss glared ferociously at me - and that experience, as anyone who has felt it would know, is deeply disorienting. In such instances, Prof. Dillon has been my steersman - the strategos - who has navigated my often floundering ship. My gratitude to him is unending. His kindness and concern has been, and continues to be, deeply touching. I am proud to count on him as not simply a supervisor, but as a Gum (in the traditional Indian sense of the term) and as a friend. Mick - thanks for accepting me as your understudy, and for all that you have done overtly and covertly for me. None of this (and much more!) would have been possible without you! Dr. C. Ram-Prasad spent his valuable time with me helping me understand the intricacies and nuances of some of the Indian texts quoted herein. His patience and enthusiasm has done much to invigorate my efforts while writing this thesis. Dr. Paolo Palladino has spent hours discussing with me matters that appear in this work. Paolo - your interest in my thinking and work is in excess of simply a ‘collegial spirit’. A very sincere and heartfelt ‘thanks’ to you Paolo. I am privileged to count you among my friends. Dr. Mark Lacy encouraged me at every turn and introduced me to interesting vistas. Mark - I value the time we spent together and for your support and encouragement. Prof. and Mrs. Quaintain have provided, and continue to provide, my ‘better-half and me with a home away from home. Their expressions of caring and understanding have been a source of much succor. Malcolm and Netta, thanks to you both for everything! I would also like to draw attention to the staff of the University of Lancaster Library, particularly of the Inter-Library-Loan Section, who unfailingly supported my repeatedly odd requests for out-of-the-ordinary texts, which they have almost always successfully chased down. They did all this with a smile and with the utmost of courtesy. Thank you! Truly, you are the silent heroes of many a PhD project! Thanks are also due to the staff of the University of Lancaster, Department of Politics and International Relations for their unfailing support. I would like to specially mention Mrs. Susan Riches and Mrs. Maureen Worthington who helped me in matters large and small. Thanks are also due to my parents who, in part, funded my stay and studies at Lancaster. A word of thanks to a couple of friends: Maria, who spent hours with me patiently listening to some of my ‘out-of-this-world’ ramblings - Thanks Maria, I consider myself fortunate to count myself as your friend; Gauri, who I have never met but who read sections of this thesis, favoured me with her insightful comments, online presence, and encouragement that spilled over and beyond the context of the thesis - Thanks Gauri - I value our friendship! This thesis would not have been possible to conceptualize, let alone write, without the active participation of three rather singular individuals: Madhura, my partner in life, has consistently shared the pleasures, but also borne the trials and tribulations in the conceptualizing and writing of this thesis. It was she who bore the brunt of my agonies and ecstasies as the writing process unfolded. While she may not have physically written the thesis, her contribution to its development and presentation is unparalleled. Madhura - To merely thank you would be grossly inadequate...thus...not only am I (to steal a line from Black Sabbath) “Living just for Dying...Dying just for You...”, but also, and more importantly, Turn ho to Hum hai! Hum ho to sab kuch hai! (If you are, then I am/ We are; If We are, then Everything Is!) Quadruped, whose physical presence I lost a number of years ago, has remained by my side. He taught me things I never believed were possible. Thanks Q. As always, I know you will never leave me! We are kindred souls! And last, but not the least, there is K who I know wishes to remain as an enigmatic trace for that which forms the primary contention of this thesis - Immanence. It is necessary to emphasize that the ideas and concepts presented in this work are mine and in no way reflect on the individuals mentioned and/ or quoted herein. As for any failings (of which there must be many), I stand guilty as charged. Abstract.. With the emergence of the theories and doctrines of the mode of combat commonly referred to as network-centric warfare, it is becoming increasingly obvious that global militaries, and particularly the US military and defence establishment, have begun to perceive a shift in the emerging ‘strategic’ environment. The hitherto rationally predictable security calculus - like the now fading Cold War strategic paradigm - is fast becoming redundant. Among other things, this shift is being increasingly understood as a movement from nation-state threats to decentralised network threats. What is significant about this is that perhaps for the first time in the history of the modem military, the military machine - a state-owned and run apparatus - is thinking of and, in some cases, even operating outside the orbit of the State. This would suggest that either the connection between war and the political is becoming increasingly tenuous, or perhaps war, considered in its originary terms, was and is not really an instrument of any kind, least of all a political one. Thus, this thesis asks: what if war in its most extravagant, uninhibited and originary sense does not serve the State? Pursuant to this, the thesis traces the philosophical backdrop against which the more common theorizations of war and its conduct take place.