Design and Emergence in the Making of American Grand Strategy |
Posted on:2014-09-19 | Degree:Ph.D | Type:Thesis |
University:Duke University | Candidate:Popescu, Ionut C | Full Text:PDF |
GTID:2455390005488691 | Subject:Political science |
Abstract/Summary: | |
The main research question of this thesis is how do grand strategies form. Grand strategy is defined as a state's coherent and consistent pattern of behavior over a long period of time in search of an overarching goal. The political science literature usually explains the formation of grand strategies by using a planning (or design) model. In this dissertation, I use primary sources, interviews with former government officials, and historical scholarship to show that the formation of grand strategy is better understood using a model of emergent learning imported from the business world. My two case studies examine the formation of American grand strategy during the Cold War and the post-Cold War eras. The dissertation concludes that in both these strategic eras the dominating grand strategies were formed primarily by emergent learning rather than flowing from advanced designs. |
Keywords/Search Tags: | Grand strategy, Grand strategies, Political science, Emergent learning |
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