The Strategy of Conflict

The Strategy of Conflict

"...in the strategy of conflict there are enlightening similarities between, say, maneuvering in limited war and jockeying in a traffic jam, between deterring the Russians and deterring one's own childern..."

Published in 1960 by Thomas Schelling, this book resulted in one of the most influential modes of thinking for American involvment in the Vietnam War.

Important Points

• Deterrence
  • The method of deterrence is used quiet frequently by the United States as well as other countries in dealing with global conflicts. The major objective of deterrence is to utilize a threat of force to subdue the potential enemy into taking into account the consequences of their actions. The major point of deterrence however is to steer clear of actual military conflict to reduce the use of military force.

• Gang War vs International War
  • This might seem odd to most people but in fact there is a direct correlation that Schelling represents on the aspects of gang war relating directly to the aspects of international war. The major component of the two is that there is a lack of legal systems in place that can regulate or put in place the affairs of these bodies (There might be laws in place in both arenas but the chances of them being followed are slim). There is a constant threat of violence in both with actual wanting of non violence to occur (relating back to deterrence). Both gangs and nations have to maintain a certain level of legitamacy by staying active in the involvment with other nations as well as other gangs. The main point to remember from this is that there is no "higher authority" for the use of contract enforcement.

• Limited War

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