How can military force be effectively employed to fulfill the ends of policy: Evolution of Strategic Thought, Essay, NTU, Singapore

Course Description:

How can military force be effectively employed to fulfil the ends of policy? The goal of this course is to sharpen your ability to think strategically and exercise strategic judgment. It is designed to improve your capacity to assess how alternative operational courses of action best combine ends, ways and means in order to achieve overall strategic and political objectives. We explore the assumptions that underpin the mechanisms linking the use of military power to the achievement of a variety of political ends.

To address this question, the course is based on two core components: (1) a study of foundational ideas about strategy and (2) analyses of key case studies.

The ideas of prominent strategic thinkers – particularly Sun Tzu and Carl von
Clausewitz – provide a sound foundation to understand the interrelationship between policy, strategy and operations.

– The case studies help you discuss and evaluate the ways in which strategic planners and military leaders in the real world have,successfully or not, addressed the problems associated with the use of force to attain political objectives. The case studies highlight different types of war and cover a wide range of strategies and operations.

2 Classes are conducted on a level equivalent to a university graduate school and meet the high academic standards demanded by GKS CSC and RSIS/NTU. The purpose of this course is professional military education, learning to improve how you think, not training, teaching you what to think. The foundational assumption of EST is that the modern officer corps is a professional body. As Political Scientist Samuel Huntington noted in his classic

The Soldier and the State (1957), one central characteristic of the military profession is expertise “acquired only by prolonged education and experience.” The skill of the professional officer is not merely an ordinary craft which “exists only in the present and is mastered by learning an existing technique without reference to what has gone before.” (p. 8). Instead: “Professional knowledge (…) is intellectual in nature and capable of preservation in writing. Professional knowledge has a history, and some knowledge of that history is essential to professional competence. Institutions of research and education are required for the extension and
transmissions of professional knowledge and skill.” (p. 8)

The aim is not to convey what the instructors believe to be the right answers, but to highlight important strategic challenges and trade-offs, expose you to the main debates about them and encourage you to engage in case-based discussions about real-world decisions.

Performance on final papers and exams is assessed by how well you understand and analyze concepts, issues, and debates, and how thoroughly you exploit relevant readings and lectures in constructing answers.

Learning Objectives:

By the completion of this course, the participants should be able to:
1. Demonstrate a good understanding of a range of classic and contemporary strategic ideas relating military power to political purpose.
2. Use these insights to evaluate different ways in which strategic planners and military leaders in the real world have successfully or unsuccessfully addressed the problems associated with the use of force to attain policy objectives.
3. Recognize and comprehend the knowledge, skills and abilities required for successful decision-making connecting policy, strategy and operations.
4. Illustrate how military leaders can integrate effectively operational capabilities with other instruments of national power to achieve enduring strategic and political effects.
5. In addition, this course gives you an opportunity to hone your writing and oral presentation skills