A new art of war

In A New Art of War, Jean-François Phelizon focuses on certain perennial aspects of strategy that are too often overlooked: the art of organizing and motivating a social group, of transmitting a vision, and of providing the group with a direction to move towards. More significantly, he explores what has changed since the end of the great “industrial” wars, with the emergence of the asymmetrical situations that characterize most modern confron¬tations. The author delineates the two paradigms of war that exist today, and which call for radically different types of strategic action. He describes the interactions that, at a conceptual level, now bring the military and economic spheres closer together. He underlines the importance of public opinion, the “invisible hand” that is felt by every strategist and that can alter power relations in a matter of moments. Bringing all these threads together, the author makes it clear why certain commercial or military victories, unques¬tionable on the ground, can lead to bitter failure in both the media and politics. Already published in French and translated into Chinese, A New Art of War is a particularly dense and innovative book. It should be read and carefully considered by all politicians, military offi-cials and business leaders who are concerned with strategy.