Awe for strategic effect : Hardly worth the trouble
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2023 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Journal of Strategic Studies |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Web | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01402390.2022.2138355 |
| Doi | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01402390.2022.2138355 |
| Keywords | Awe; strategy; emotion; war; warfare |
| Attached files | |
| Description | Can strategists reduce the adversary’s capability or will to fight through militarily inspired awe? While strategic and emotion theories suggest an affirmative answer, evidence from strategic history indicates awe does not work well in practice. Historically, military power has only inspired awe on a limited scale, unreliably, disparately and not repeatedly. Furthermore, the emotion does not translate into favourable strategic effects because of the fluid emotional landscape which characterizes combat and politics. These findings question the wisdom of relying on awe in strategic practice but also hold implications for the extant and future strategic thought, particularly the emotion centric one. |
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