Sun Tzu and Clausewitz. Two Diametrically Alternative Views on the Utility of the Application of Force (PDF)

Seminar paper from the year 2021 in the subject Sociology - War and Peace, Military, grade: 1,0, Hawai'i Pacific University, language: English, abstract: Two strategic conceptions have essentially determined the development of contemporary strategies. One of these conceptions is the Prussian general Carl Philip Gottfried von Clausewitz, described in his famous work "On War." His strategic considerations have had a decisive influence on the military treatises and investigations of Engels and Lenin. Their studies, in turn, made possible the development of Soviet strategy of the present day, as formulated primarily by Marshal Sokolovsky and his co-authors in their work "Military Strategy," published in 1962 and revised again and again since then. However, various theses and conclusions in Clausewitz's conception also decisively influenced the strategic considerations of the American neo-Clausewitzians after 1957, such as the game theorist Schelling or the escalation theorist Kahn. The American nuclear strategy of mutually assured destruction "MAD" of McNamara (1967) and the NATO strategy of flexible reply have also been worked out primarily based on the considerations of these theorists.

The other conception is that of the Chinese theorist Sun Tzu, developed in the 5th century and outlined in his work "Art of War." The work has been copied and reprinted again and again throughout Chinese history. Mao Tse-tung based his strategy of guerrilla warfare, recorded in his "Selected Military Writings," on Sun Tzu's theses. Mao Tse-tung's conception has influenced the various strategy of guerrilla warfare after 1945.

The paper at hand will analyze both theories focusing on differences and similarities between the two conceptions in terms of strategic objectives, decision-making processes, strategic means, and mode of deployment.