Strategic Theory & Nature of War
According to the "Crash Course" video, this Prussian military theorist famously defined war as "the continuation of politics by other means.
Who is Carl von Clausewitz?
In Chapter 1, Robin Niblett points out that unlike this former economic autarky, modern China is deeply integrated into the global economic system.
What is the Soviet Union (USSR)?
C. Dale Walton explores the stabilizing and destabilizing dynamics of these highly destructive weapons in twenty-first-century security politics.
What are Nuclear Weapons?
In a prominent Bloomberg Originals video, this country is highlighted for structuring domestic hacking competitions to scout elite state cyber talent.
What is China?
In Chapter 9, Robin Niblett discusses how geopolitical friction between major carbon-emitting nations makes tackling this ecological crisis even harder.
What is Climate Change?
This ancient Chinese strategist focused on winning without fighting, emphasizing deception and subverting the enemy's will over direct clash.
Who is Sun Tzu?
This concept, analyzed by Ortmann and Whittaker, examines how geographical factors, terrain, and spatial relationships shape international politics and state power.
What is Geopolitics?
This collective term, explored by Acharya and He, describes nations outside the traditional Western power bloc that are increasingly finding their voice in global competition.
What is the Global South (or "The Rest")?
According to a 60 Minutes broadcast, this democratic island faces a near-constant, daily barrage of Chinese grey-zone cyber assault and gray-space infrastructure probes.
What is Taiwan?
Demographer Nicholas Eberstadt analyzes this specific global demographic shift, which threatens economic growth and military recruiting pools across both East Asia and Europe.
What is Depopulation (or population decline / sub-replacement fertility)?
Thomas G. Mahnken outlines how this abstract concept bridges the gap between military means and political ends, serving as a blueprint for using power.
What is Strategic Theory?
Scholars like Oriana Skylar Mastro and Sarah C.M. Paine track this country's long-term master plan to achieve regional hegemony and global superpower status.
What is Chinese Grand Strategy?
In Chapter 8, Robin Niblett explains that these historically uncommitted countries are asserting their independence rather than blindly picking sides between Washington and Beijing.
What is the Non-Aligned Movement (or non-aligned states)?
In Chapter 4, Robin Niblett details the shifting regional ambitions, revanchist policies, and hybrid tactics of this major Eurasian power.
What is Russia?
James J. Wirtz describes how the traditional state-centric defense focus must expand to include these non-military threats that affect human survival.
What is the New Security Agenda (or non-traditional security threats)?
Roger Z. George discusses how this crucial state apparatus supports military strategy by uncovering adversary intentions and reducing strategic surprise.
What is Intelligence?
This specific phrase describes China's manufacturing strategy of producing far more goods than domestic markets can consume, causing friction globally.
What is industrial overcapacity?
John Baylis analyzes the historical treaties, verification regimes, and diplomatic hurdles designed to limit the spread of these catastrophic arsenals.
What is WMD Control (or Non-Proliferation/Arms Control)?
Maness, Lorentz, and Valeriano analyze how states use operations in this virtual domain as a low-cost, deniable tool to achieve strategic leverage without triggering open war.
What is Cyber Conflict (or Cyberspace)?
This term describes how borderless hazards, like infectious pandemics or changing global temperatures, can compound existing civil conflicts and state fragility.
What are transnational threats (or threat multipliers)?
In his book's introduction, Robin Niblett argues that the modern structural contest between these two global superpowers constitutes a "New Cold War."
Who are the United States and China?
This phrase represents a state's ultimate, highest-level calculation of its core national security interests and the comprehensive orchestration of diplomatic, economic, and military power to achieve them.
What is Grand Strategy?
This international treaty, signed in 1968, forms the legal cornerstone of global efforts to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons tech while allowing peaceful nuclear energy.
What is the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)?
This specific warfare strategy relies on the systematic spread of false, distorted, or weaponized narratives by states like Moscow to fracture Western alliances and societal trust.
What is a Dissemination Campaign (or Disinformation / Information Warfare)?
This specific dynamic occurs when the shifting birth rates and greying workforces of aging societies create a massive economic burden that directly limits a nation's defense spending and global power projection.
What is the demographic dividend reversal (or age structural pressure / demographic squeeze)?