DUS2A22

INTRODUCTIONTO
STRATEGICSTUDIES
LECTURE4
Strategic
Culture

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Thinking
aboutCulture
&
Security
r l, mainapproaches:
1. Cultureas valueaddedexplanation of state
behavior.
. Cultureusedto fillthegapbytheories on
national
interest of power.
& distribution
. Considered as variable
thatinfluence
behaviorbutsecondary to international
systemicpressure.
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 Thinking
aboutCulture
&
Security
2. C astheoretical modelthatcanexplain
somestrategic behavior
r Q as independent variablesthatexplain
securitypolicy/neorealism @ neo
liberalism
institutionalism
3. Humanconduct canunderstand by
becoming immersed in a culture
r Q is powerful butimpossible to measure
as
an influenceon policy.
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CultureandPolitical
Science
. Origins- Thucydides, SunTzuandvonClausewitz
. Earlystudiesfocusedon "national character"
through the "behavioralrevolution"in thesocial
sciences
. AlmondandVerba'sstudyof political culture-
integratedculturalapproaches intodiscipline
of PS.
. PC-arguedincluded a commitment to valueslike
democratic principles& institution,
ideason
morality,theuseof force,rightsof individuals,
collectivities
& roleof a country.
. Studiesof thelinkbetween culture andpolitics
alwayshavebeencontroversial
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 Strategic
cultureandnuclear
deterrence
. Snyderused strategiccultureto interpretSovietnuclear
doctrine
- Broughtpoliticalcultureinto modernsecuritystudies
by developingtheoryof strategiccultureto interpret
Sovietnucleardoctrine
- A set of generalbeliefs,attitudes,behaviourpatterns
with regardto nuclearstrategyhas achieveda state
of semi-permanence - that placethemat levelof
culturalratherthan policy
- E.g.Sovietexhibitpreferences for pre emptivestrike,
offensiveuse of force- originin RussianHistoryof
insecurity& authoritarian
control.
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Strategic
cultureandnuclear
deterrence
. ColinGrayarguedthattherearedistinctive
nationalstylesbasedin history
. Nuclear strategy linkedto historicalpolitical
orientations.
' HedefinedSCas 'modesof thought & actionswith
respectto force'- whichprecepts fromnational
historical
experiences/aspi rations.
. SCprovides strategyis debated & servesas
independent determination of strategicpolicy
patterns.
. SChavesemipermanent influence onsecurity
policy.
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 Sourcesof strategic
culture
. Geography,climate,and resources
- A state rnay face differentthreatson its various
borders
. Historyand experience-differentkind of states
' E.g.weakto strong,colonialto postcolonial,pre-
modern,modern& postmodern.
. Differentkind of statehavedifferentstrategicproblems-
applyuniqueresponsesaccordingly.
. Transnational norms,generational change,technology
. Politicalstructureand defenceorganizations
- Militarydoctrine,civil-militaryrelations,procurement
policies,etc. may all influencestrategicculture
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Sourcesof strategic
culture(cont)
. Mythmakingandsymbols
groupings.
- Partsof cultural
- Bothactas stabilizing
or destabilizing
factorin
theevolution
of strategic
cultural
identities.
. Nationbuilding
. Old and new statesand nationalism

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 culture(key
Sourcesof strategic
points)
Snyderbroughtthe politicalcultural argument intothe
realmof modernsecuritystudiesby developing a theoryof
strategiccultureto interpretSovietmilitarystrategy
Scholars havearguedthatnationalbtytes, with'deeproots
withina particularstreamof historicalexperience'
characterized nuclearstrategy-making in countrieslikeUS
& SU duringthe ColdWar.
Thesourcesof SC are considered to be: Geography,
climate,& resources, history& expeiience, political
structure,the natureof organizationinvolvedin defence,
myth& symbols,keytextsthatinformactorsof appropriate
strategicaction& transnational norms,generational
change,& the roleof technology.
SC mightbe influenced by internationalnorms.

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Constructivism
andstrategic
culture
. Seesstateidentities& interest
as socially
constructed by knowledgeablepractice
. Viewcultureas an evolvingsystems of shared
meaning thatgovernperceptions,communications
& actions
. ldea- Perceptlon - Norms(practice) - Interest-
System.
. Newwaveof research on cultureandstrategy
- Needfora common definition
of strategic
cultureandotherrefinements
extefnalshocks
 Whoare the 'keepers'of strategic
culture?
. Elitesand the transmission of a commonhistorical
narrative
. Politicalinstitution,includingactorssuchas political
parties,can impactforeign/defence policybehaviour
. Thereremaindifferencesin definingSC
. ldentifyingSC as a set of sharedassumptions & decision
rulespromptthe questions of how they are &
maintained
by whom.
. Elitesare often the purveyorsof the commonhistorical
narrative.
. Politicalinstitutionsincludingparties& domesticcoalitions
can havean impacton stateforeignpolicybehaviour.
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andchange
continuity
Cultural
. Moststudiesof strategic
culturefocuson
butmanyrecentstudies,
continuity,
by constructivism,
influenced have
addressedstrategic changeover
cultural
time
. States,non-statesandmulti-stateactors

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 Whywouldstrategic
culture
change?
' External
shocksthatrequireleadersto re-
examinetheirattitudes
. Strategic (inconsistency)
cultural
dissonance:primarytenetsof strategic
thought witheachother
conflicting

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Whichactorscanhavedefined
strategic
cultures?
. Debateoverwhetherthe EUcandevelopa
strategic
culture
. Cannon-state actors,suchas terrorist
groups,developstrategiccultures?

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 Keypoints
Thefocusof moststudiesof SC is on continuity of
statebehavior.
However,one dimensionof the latestgeneration of
culturalstudiesis the possibility
of changeovertime.
At leasttwo keyfactorsmay causeStrategicChange:
externalshocks& SC dissonance.
Oneof the morecomplexquestions thatcarriesover
through generations relatesto whattypesof actorsare
mostlikelyto havedefinedstrategiccultures;states,
regionalorganizations, civilizations& evennonstate
groupssuchas terroristnetworks?
Globalization& revolutions in information technology
suggestthatfuturethreat will be morediffuse,more
dispersed, & moremultidimensional.

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Remarks:
Concluding
WMDandStrategic
Culture
I
lran
I
NorthKorea
I
Normsandtaboos
t
Securitydilemmadynamics

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