Strategic Culture: A “Cultural” Understanding of War

Abstract

The concept of strategic culture has become increasingly important in the field of strategic studies. This article traces the evolution of strategic culture as an academic topic and suggests that the importance of culture for understanding strategic issues was also recognized in ancient times. However, it was only in the latter part of the twentieth century that the concept of strategic culture was able to attract the attention of strategic studies theorists. The process whereby strategic studies has attained its present status has been one of scholarly debates and this paper seeks to chronicle that process. © 2009 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.