Tactics, strategy, and logistics drive the management of organized violence

When we speak of military leadership we are speaking of the management of organized violence.

A random thought, that has occurred to me, concerns the inter-connectedness of all things.

What follows are some additional, accumulated random thoughts.

Vladimir Putin and Erving Goffman

I have a keen interest in the discussion in Mr. Putin: Operative in the Kremlin (2015) regarding Mr. Putin’s conceptualization of what strategy entails. In the latter’s formulation, strategy means planning for the unexpected – that is, planning for contingencies. It does not mean having a step-by-step long-term plan for moving a particular project forward.

Mr. Putin (2015) outlines the formative experiences that have given rise to the latter’s particular understanding – and blindspots in relation to such an understanding – of economics, Europe, and the United States.

The book also discusses the relevance of such understandings, and misperceptions, as they relate to policy decisions related to current circumstances.

This is a highly valuable, well-organized, well-written book, which has the capability of giving rise to many insights.

An underlying concept, as I’ve been reading the above-noted Brookings Institution study regarding Mr. Putin, that I have kept in mind is the dramaturgical perspective, regarding the dynamics of social interactions, that has been outlined by the Canadian social psychologist, Erving Goffman.

Goffman’s formulations regarding how situations are defined are as relevant in the current era, as they were when he first shared his observations.

Tactics, strategy, and logistics

A related topic concerns the history of logistics, which I will save for a future post. Tactics, strategy, and logistics all go together – in military history, in business, in political life, in whatever project you can think of.

My own understanding of the role of strategy is based on my experience with community self-organizing projects in Canada and elsewhere. Over several decades, I’ve benefited from the strategic advice of many people whose experience vastly exceeds my own. Even a person with little experience can make a big difference, I have learned, if a person is willing to listen to sound advice that others can provide.

Logistics as a driving force in international relations

Logistics serves as a driving force in international relations. My reading, with regard to logistics, has focused on a study by Deborah Cowen entitled The Deadly Life of Logistics: Mapping Violence in Global Trade (2014). The latter book is only available as a Reference copy at the Toronto Public Library; however, at the Mississauga Library System a Circulating copy is available.

The Story of Mississauga

As I’ve noted at a previous post, I have been following with interest the Story of Mississauga.

The Story of Mississauga is focused on story management as viewed from the perspective of heritage management.

I’ve been following the evolving planning process for the Story of Mississauga for some time. The concept of developing a story for an entire city appeals to me hugely. What a great concept!

I do have one additional random thought. In the event the Story of Mississauga makes for “better citizens,” that is not exciting at all, except for bureaucratic story managers, whose conception of what civic engagement entails is vague if not nonexistent. On the other hand, if the Story of Mississauga turns out to be (along the lines of The Moth (2015)) extraordinary, based upon solid evidence, and surprising, then I will buy it, for sure.