Revisiting the Discourse on Strategic Culture: An Assessment of the Conceptual Debates

Anand V.

Dr. Anand V. is Assistant Professor in the Department of Geopolitics and International Relations, at the Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, India. Views expressed are personal. read more

Strategic culture as a concept is generally understood as pertaining to the influence of the cultural dimension in national strategy. The concept rose to prominence due to the inability of the structural realist theory to explain differences in behavioural patterns among nations. However, a diverse array of perspectives has evolved on the concept, spanning four generations of theorization, giving rise to numerous debates. Therefore, an attempt has been made in this article to make sense of the concept of strategic culture in all its complexity through a longitudinal and cross-sectional assessment.