Ontological-Cultural Asymmetry and the Relevance of Grand Strategies

Authors

  • Joseph Henrotin Free University of Brussels and University of Paris-3 Sorbonne-Nouvelle
  • Tanguy Struye de Swielande Catholic University of Louvain

Abstract

For a few years, we have heard a lot about asymmetric warfare. Most of the time, the question of asymmetry is however reduced to the instrumental aspect of the problem. If you really want to understand the complexity of asymmetry you need to dig further. The purpose of the article is to understand some other characteristics of asymmetry, namely the ontological, cultural, moral facets of asymmetry. These are the forgotten dimensions of asymmetry in the public debate. Therefore we must recognize asymmetry as a general strategy that needs to be counterbalanced by a grand/integral strategy.

Author Biographies

Joseph Henrotin, Free University of Brussels and University of Paris-3 Sorbonne-Nouvelle

Joseph Henrotin is a candidate at the PhD. in political sciences (Free University of Brussels and University of Paris-3 Sorbonne-Nouvelle). He is a researcher at the Institut de Stratégie Comparée (ISC) and at the Institut Français d’Analyse Stratégique (IFAS), he is currently finishing the writing of Surmodernité de la stratégie. Révolutions stratégiques et art de la guerre au XXIème siècle. Last published book : J. Henrotin (Dir.), Au risque du chaos. Leçons politiques et stratégiques de la guerre d’Irak, Armand Colin, Paris, 2004.

Tanguy Struye de Swielande, Catholic University of Louvain

Tanguy Struye de Swielande holds a PhD. in political sciences (Catholic University of Louvain) and has published La politique étrangère américaine et les défis asymétriques (CIACO, Louvain-La-Neuve, 2003). He is currently working on a book about the evolution of asymmetry after the Cold War, “L’asymétrie dans l’après guerre froide”, Coll. RMES, Bruylant, Bruxelles, 2005.

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Issue

Vol. 7 No. 2 (2004): Winter 2004

Section

Articles