Routledge Handbook of Strategic Culture

3 Growth and Refinement across the Field of Strategic Culture From First Generation to Fourth

Brigitte E. Hugh

DOI: 10.4324/9781003010302-4

Introduction

While the influence of culture on the actions of warring groups has been discussed by strategists throughout history,¹ the concept of strategic culture – the impact of ideas, symbols, myths, and historical experience on foreign policy or the military decisions made by influential individuals in a group’s deciding body – is relatively new to the field of international relations. This modern incarnation of strategic culture appeared in 1977 when Snyder referred to “the Soviet strategic culture” in conducting an analysis of the USSR’s limited nuclear strategy.² The concept evolved over the next ...