ABSTRACT
This chapter is to introduce the assumptions underpinning strategy and its role in military theory. The chapter is divided into four sections dealing with: different understandings of strategy, the strategic context, the concept of victory, and the logic of strategy. The term strategy is derived from the ancient Greek words stratos and agein. The origin of the concept is therefore inextricably linked to military affairs and denotes the commander or the art of commanding an army. Strategy is the interface between battlefield tactics destruction, death, and demolition and politics. As the interface between politics and war, strategy is underpinned by three elements. Using strategy as an analytical lens means that the line between peace and war so central in much current theorizing, international law, and diplomatic practice becomes less important. In guerrilla strategy, the enemys rear, flanks, and other vulnerable spots are his vital points, and there he must be harassed, attacked, dispersed, exhausted, and annihilated.
