J. Adamski, M. Troy Johnson, C.M. Schweiss, Old Europe, New Security/Evolution for a Complex World (Londres: Ashgate, coll. Ethics and Global Politics

La tâche que se donnent les directrices de ce volume est d’examiner la sécurité européenne à partir d’une nouvelle approche. Cette approche intègrerait les diverses possibilités qu’offrent plusieurs points de vues, plusieurs contextes géographiques, et plusieurs formations politiques. Les dimensions élargies de l’approche proposée reflètent les dimensions de la sécurité européenne elle-même, tout comme l’intégration théorique des auteurs reflète l’intégration politique des états concernés.

Parmi les sujets auxquels s’adresse Old Europe, New Security, l’on retrouve les questions suivantes: qu’est-ce qui motive les acteurs européens, que ce soit les états-membres ou des acteurs non-gouvernementaux? Ces acteurs européens privilégient-ils la défense nationale plutôt que la sécurité européenne? Sur quels fondements les divers objectifs nationaux s’appuient-ils? L’expérience historique seule est-elle toujours le fondement de la sécurité européenne? Est-ce que la sécurité européenne se fonde à son tour sur une culture régionale autonome? (Les auteurs prennent pour acquis que cette culture régionale autonome existe.) Lesquelles des institutions européennes s’adaptent à la nouvelle architecture politico-militaire de l’Europe? Quels rôles jouent la European Security and Defense Policy et la Common Foreign and Security Policy? Comment ces politiques se comparent-elles au rôle de l’OTAN?

On peut s’en douter, n’importe quel ouvrage qui se propose une telle gamme d’objectifs comportent au moins deux approches distinctes, mais connexes. En première partie, le débat s’ouvre sur des chapitres tantôt plus théoriques, tantôt plus historiques. On retrace pendant plusieurs chapitres suivants l’évolution de la politique de sécurité de l’Union européenne. Mme Johnson, pour sa part, compare les valeurs européennes et américaines qui sous-tendent leurs politiques de sécurité respectives. L’auteur suivant, Mme Adamski, analyse ce que révèlent les discussions autour du traité de Bruxelles et de la communauté européenne de défense, surtout en ce qui a trait aux préférences historiques de la population. Vient ensuite l’analyse de Mme Liotta, qui aborde le concept européen de sécurité dans la mesure ou il actualise les valeurs et les préférences de la population. Cette analyse pénétrante permet une meilleure compréhension du processus et du contenu des politiques de défense et de sécurité. M. Keulman approfondit l’analyse de politiques particulières, en l’occurrence celle portant sur la Common Foreign and Security Policy et celle portant sur la European Security Defense Identity. Les deux chapitres qui suivent examinent, dans le cas de M. Krupnick, le détail de la structure de la sécurité européenne, et dans le cas de mme Schweiss, le développement, la situation actuelle et les structures intérieures soutenant les capacités opérationnelles de l‘Union européenne.

En seconde partie, on retrouve tout d’abord les travaux de Mesdames Jebb et Schweiss sur la réaction européenne à la crise dans les Balkans. Leurs conclusions sont plus optimistes que la plupart des chercheurs dans le domaine. Quand vient le tour de Mme Beitler, elle juge de la situation complexe au proche Orient, et trouve pour sa part que l’approche européenne – la plupart du temps très distincte de celle des États-Unis – mène à des résultats bien différents. Au chapitre suivant, M. Nadkarni explore l’approche que prend l’union Européenne envers la Russie, son voisin le plus imposant. M. Nadkarni conclue que la multiplicité des domaines de négociation vient à en faire une relation complexe et plutôt imprévisible. Enfin, M. Roy examine en détail l’histoire et l’actualité du rôle européen en Amérique latine.

L’ouvrage est une collaboration qui date de 2001, et l’ouvrage reflète les circonstances d’alors; sur certains points, il est déjà suranné. Lorsqu’elle n’a qu’une voix, qu’une parole, l’Union européenne parle d’importance sur toutes les questions internationales, qu’elles soient économiques, politiques ou militaires. Quand elle vote en bloc sur les résolutions proposées par les organismes internationaux, il s’agit la plupart du temps du bloc de voix le plus important. L’ironie du sort, c’est que sans grand discours sur la démocratie, l’Union européenne a élargie sa composition de dix états-membres, sans le moindre recours aux interventions militaires. Cela fait contraste avec les États-Unis, qui ne parlèrent plus d’autre chose pendant de longues années après les évènements du 11 septembre. Pour Washington, la structure européenne de sécurité comporte d’importantes lacunes – c’est l’argument de Mesdames Schweiss, Johnston, et Adamski. Il est sûr que la définition de la sécurité régionale est beaucoup plus large en Europe. On pourrait même dire qu’il ne s’agit pas de négligence, mais bien d’une volonté politique spécifique, lorsque l’on remarque que certains intérêts géopolitiques sont laissés pour compte. Selon les auteurs, les européens auraient habilement exploitée la diplomatie, au moment même où les américains la délaissait. Par ailleurs, le multilatéralisme européen aurait un lien plus direct avec la sécurité du continent que ne peuvent expliquer les valeurs qui la sous-tendent. Loin de refuser l’emploi de la force militaire, les européens ne l’emploierait qu’appuyé par le droit international et la légitimité reconnue. Voilà le contraste le plus frappant avec la politique américaine, et c’est surtout à un auditoire disposé d’avance à accepter ce genre de conclusions que l’ouvrage s’adresse.

Essay on Student Participation in Curriculum Review

Essay on Departmental Curriculum Review.

Even though most professors frequently revise and update their course or experiment with new approaches to make the teaching and learning process more effective and enjoyable, systematic curriculum review of a program falls outside the expertise of nearly all university faculty. Student participation is non-existent in the processes that review content of courses and structure of programs. The only extant example, at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences, provides for the presence of a single student in a committee of 41 members total. The process of review there was wide-ranging and much broader than a single discipline, and in the event did not include a student enrolled in that discipline.

Therefore, the proposal of student participation in such a committee means that the questions and processes must be considered carefully to avoid the appearance or reality of conflict of interest, to address any concerns students may have over the possibility of their suggestions affecting how they are graded by the professors, and other concerns that may arise. It should also take care to avoid duplicating the existing mechanisms of undergraduate program review, teaching evaluations for particular courses, course descriptions as approved by university Senate, including the process of calendar changes, or Senate committees on undergraduate studies or teaching and learning. It should not put the students in the position of receiving confidential material of any nature. On the positive side, it should capitalize on its advantages over other forms of seeking student input in the undergraduate programs, such as holding annual town hall meetings. Whatever statements the committee develops would ultimately require the building of consensus within the department and would have to remain advisory and subject to all the university policies, including of course the protection of academic freedom.

There are a number of options for an advisory committee with student participation on curriculum review.

1. It can propose to the department a philosophy for its teaching. The committee would develop and propose statements on beliefs, assumptions, and values to the department for its consideration. It could propose principles of teaching, such as the need for challenges and for enjoyment, for breadth, coherence and relevance in the curriculum; such as the need to encourage innovation, and for the tolerance of diversity in pedagogy, for the encouragement of pedagogical experimentation, even if there are failures; for taking care in posing no constraints to change, structural, informal, or otherwise; for the testing of what has been taught. The committee could propose values such as learning; such as ongoing change to meet educational needs and to improve learning; such as encouraging access while maintaining quality; for encouraging diversity in order to broaden understanding and learning; for encouraging partnership with the community; for developing systematic approaches to decision-making.[1] One possible model is that propose by Paulo Freire in the Pedagogy of the Oppressed:[2] the teacher should work as a collaborating ally of the student, not as a supervisor; the subject of the study must be the lives of the students or the perceptions of their own lives; the goal is not changing the student but working with the student to change external, objective reality. Or it could consider Peter Elbows’ four principles: seeing students as smart and capable; showing students the instructors are on their side; explicitly trying to help students do better in testing and grading; revealing our own position, doubts, ambivalence, and biases.[3] It could consider whether control or independence strategies should be used, defined as the use of objective, highly structured courses versus learning contracts and problem-based learning, for example.[4] It could consider such questions as whether the department should focus on knowledge or intellectual skills, on intellectual skills or abilities, competencies, attitudes, and dispositions.[5]

2. The university believes that each program should teach students to be critical thinkers, to be socially and environmentally aware, and should develop student leadership. The faculty of social sciences encourages active pedagogies wherever possible: these include case-based learning, classroom simulations, community-based learning, practicum, problem-based learning, inquiry-based learning, learning through peer groups, learning communities, weekly forum, learning cells, debating controversial issues, and many others. The department committee could therefore consider such questions as whether the program should result in training for particular professions, and whether faculty members have a responsibility to encourage independent student learning. The department committee could also consider potential characteristics of a political science graduate, such as the demonstrated capacity for acquisition, application and integration of knowledge in politics; research skills, including the ability to define problems and access, retrieve and evaluate information; critical thinking and problem-solving skills; responsible behavior to self, others and society; literacy skills; interpersonal and communications skills; teamwork, and personal and group leadership skills; creativity; and the ability and desire for continuous learning. It could also considerable whether skills ought to be transferable, and what part those skills ought to have in the curriculum.

3. The department committee could also investigate whether the department enrolment has any characteristics, such as the participation of Aboriginal students, of first-generation immigrants, of speakers of English as a second language (as is the case for several faculty members), of proportion of men and women, of mature students, of politically active students, and any other characteristics. It could also consider the motivation of students, of whether they do or should consider themselves product for the job market, of whether it would be appropriate for the department to train good citizens, and what that would mean.

4. The department committee could explore what principles should guide student evaluation: should it be the sequence of unconscious incompetence, conscious incompetence, conscious competence, and unconscious incompetence?[6] Or should it use the levels of ignorance, unistructural, multistructural, relational or extended abstract?[7]

5. The committee could explore what principles should guide interactions outside of the classroom, i.e. whether the instructor should show interest in the person who is speaking and the subject under discussion; should continue to listen when the subject becomes boring; should not allow prejudice to reduce attention; should not permit enthusiasm to carry them away; should not be critical of the other person’s speech or method of delivery; should regularly summarize what is heard; should check for understanding; should not allow emotional reactions to affect understanding; should concentrate when difficult ideas are being expressed; should create the right environment for listening; should allow sufficient time for full understanding before treating; and should make a final review of understanding of facts.[8]

6. The department committee could also propose what students ought to be able to do at the close of a program, such as critically review research articles in the discipline, create and implement some form of political change, or advise the community on such changes, analyze and compare theories on various issues, assess the performance of political actors, or reason out a position on political issues. Should they be able to apply already-learned concepts to the widest range possible of information? Should they have the ability to build new concepts?

7. The department committee could achieve the above by brainstorming, by consulting students and faculty members through surveys or town hall meetings, by inviting speakers or faculty members to discuss various issues, by sponsoring open forum or debate on their proposed statements, by investigating how issues are handled in other Canadian universities, or by developing a mission statement. The committee could also adopt or identify certain good practices, such as allowing for variation, requiring consultation and consensus, that overarching university policies and practices are not contradicted; that the committee require the department to work by consensus.

All this points to the student participation being a channel for a broader consultation of students enrolled in a particular program or taking an interest in a particular discipline. The work involved would be extensive, and points to a possible need for an honorarium to be paid to such students.

Proposed Course Outline Template[9]

PREREQUISITES	courses, knowledge, skills, experience
ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS	Contact information for instructor and teaching assistants, office hours, office location
AIM PURPOSE RATIONALE	introduction to subject matter and how course fits with college or departmental curriculum; why course is important to students; consideration of student characteristics
LEARNER OUTCOMES	what a student will gain as a result of taking the course; knowledge, skills, and attitudes or values that you expect students to have when they leave; alignment with faculty and university goals and objectives
HOW THE COURSE IS ORGANIZED	explain why topics are organized in a certain way
CALENDAR OR SCHEDULE	required versus recommended work; estimate of student workload; how and why topics follow each other; contribution of that structure to learner outcomes or student needs; alignment with faculty and university goals and objectives
FORMAT, ACTIVITIES, PEDAGOGY	contribution to learner outcomes; materials used; details of pedagogy, format, activities used; alignment with faculty and university goals and objectives
STUDENT EVALUATION	list assignments, term papers and exams; nature (expected length), deadline dates; describe grading procedure; alignment with learner outcomes or student needs; alignment with faculty and university goals and objectives
RESOURCES	one text or a series of readings; other resources; alignment with learner outcomes or student needs; alignment with faculty and university goals and objectives
PROPOSED LEARNING CONTRACT
COMMENT FROM PREVIOUS STUDENTS
COURSE POLICIES	attendance; late work; makeup work; make-up exams; academic fraud; alignment of each with learner outcomes or student needs, with faculty and university goals and objectives
PHILOSOPHY	beliefs, assumptions, and values related to course and teaching; alignment with faculty and university goals and objectives

Proposed Work Schedule

Meeting 1 Consideration of how the department committee should go about its work

Meeting 2 Consideration of department principles, values in teaching

Meeting 3 Consideration of existing characteristics of students and potential characteristics of graduates

Meeting 4 Consideration of principles guiding student evaluation

Meeting 5 Consideration of principles guiding one-on-one teacher student interactions

Meeting 6 Consideration of course outline template

Some Information on Selected Active Pedagogies

Inquiry-based learning is a form of self-directed learning and follows the four basic stages defining self-directed learning. Students take more responsibility for determining what they need to learn, identifying resources and how best to learn from them, using resources and reporting their learning, and assessing their progress in learning. A comprehensive senior inquiry course will have all four of these elements. Students will take the initiative and be largely responsible for seeing they successfully complete their learning in a given area. Generally, students draft a “learning contract” and then execute it – the instructor submits a grade on completion of the contract.

Problem based learning is a pathway to better learning, helping students to learn how to learn. This method challenges students to develop the ability to think critically, analyze problems, find and use appropriate learning resources. It is a learner-centered educational method. Learners are progressively given more and more responsibility for their own education and become increasingly independent of the teacher for their education. It is based on real world problems. Learning is based on the messy, complex problems encountered in the real world as a stimulus for learning and for integrating and organizing learned information in ways that will ensure its recall and application to future problems. It is a motivating way to learn. Learners are involved in active learning, working with real problems and what they have to learn in their study is seen as important and relevant to their own lives.

Community based learning is a method which promotes student learning and development through participation in thoughtfully organized service experiences. These experiences are defined, planned, implemented, and coordinated collaboratively by students, the university, and the community. They offer students an opportunity for an application of their education in service to the community which enhances their appreciation, understanding, and respect for others. Service Learning activities may be incorporated into courses or they may be stand-alone, co- or extra-curricular projects. Principles of community-based learning include: structured opportunities for people to reflect critically on their service experience; articulates clear service and learning goals for everyone involved; allows for those with needs to define those needs; clarifies the responsibilities of each person and organization involved; matches service providers and service needs through a process that recognizes changing circumstances; expects genuine, active, and sustained organizational commitment; includes training, supervision, monitoring, support, recognition, and evaluation to meet service and learning goals; insures that the time commitment for service and learning is flexible, appropriate, and in the best interests of all involved; is committed to program participation by and with diverse populations.

Case-based learning tells the story of an interest-arousing issue. It is set in the past five years, and creates empathy with the central political actors. It includes direct quotations and primary sources. It is relevant to the reader, and should be thought-provoking and require some decision-making. It must have some generalizable value and it must serve the pedagogy of the course. It also needs to be short.

Competence-based learning breaks up the role of the instructor into devising the competencies (specifying the knowledge and skills a student must have to get credit); validating the competencies (going to the outside world to determine whether these are the competencies people really need for certain jobs, studies, or tasks); designing the instruction (figuring out what subject matter, activities, and materials should be used to help students get these competencies); early diagnostic testing (finding out whether students are suited for the instruction or need special help); teaching; late diagnostic testing; and certifying.[10]

Learning through peer groups makes it possible for students to learn from each other. Students may see instructors as assessors and are reluctant to display their ignorance by making mistakes; students having problems with a concept can be helped by someone who has just overcome that difficulty; the competitive element within a peer group may motivate students; students can work at their own pace. The role of the teacher is to organize the groups, provide tasks for them and only intervene with support when requested.[11]

Classroom Role Play Simulations are extensively established in the literature.[12] In recent years, classroom role-play simulations have been used for Cabinet and budget processes in courses on Canadian Politics at University of Toronto, for processes determining foreign policy at Dalhousie University, for determination of future Canadian policy in Afghanistan by the Senlis Council, and in single class simulations in Comparative Politics at University of Delaware. For example, . A simulation like this is extremely effective in teaching students about the domestic politics of foreign countries. The theory and practice of comparative politics are often covered by a combination of lectures delivery and long form written work – essays, examinations, etc. A simulation exercise, on the other hand, presents all the advantages of active pedagogy, as well as covering some of the basic themes typically present in upper year courses in Comparative Politics.

Formalized Socratic Thinking The formalization of the Socratic method of structured open-ended questions for supporting analysis, i.e. the worksheet system, is similar to the structured open-ended question system advocated by Robert R. Blake and Jane S. Mouton, in " What's New With The Grid?" Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, Vol. 16, No. 4, 41-46 (1979). The method itself is broadly established in the university classroom in a variety of disciplines.[13]

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[1] Graham Bradley, “Learning in Effect,” Ronald Barnett, Learning to Effect (London: Open University Press, 1992), 21-38, 26.

[2] Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed (New York: Cotinuum, 2000).

[3] Peter Elbow, Embracing Contraries/Explorations in Learning and Teaching (New York: Oxford University Press, 1986), 149-150.

[4] Graham Gibbs, Problems and Course Design Strategies (Oxford: Oxford Centre for Staff Development, 1995, 17.

[5] A. Doherty, J. Chenevert, R.R. Miller, J.L. Roth, L.C. Truchan, “Developing Intellectual Skills,” in J.G. Gaff and L.LL. Ratcliff, Handbook of Undergraduate Curriculum (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1992), 173.

[6] The attribution of which is contested.

[7] Graham Gibbs, “Improving the Quality of Student Learning through Course Design,” Ronald Barnett, Learning to Effect (London: Open University Press, 1992), 140- 168, 151-2.

[8]Diana Tribe and A.J. Tribe, “The Law Teachers’ Dilemma,” in Ronald Barnett, Learning to Effect (London: Open University Press, 1992), 87-97, 94.

[9] With some ideas from Graham Gibbs, Independent Learning with More Students (Oxford: Oxford Staff Development Centre, 1992), 32.

[10] Peter Elbow, Embracing Contraries/Explorations in Learning and Teaching (New York: Oxford University Press, 1986), 103.

[11] Malcolm Frazer, “Promoting Learning,” in Ronald Barnett, Learning to Effect (London: Open University Press, 1992), 55-68, 62.

[12] Camelot, A Role Playing Simulation For Political Decision Making, James R. Woodworth, W. Robert Gump; Homewood, Ill. : Dorsey Press, 1982; Simple Simulations : A Guide To The Design And Use Of Simulation/Games In Teaching Political Science / By Charles Walcott (Washington : American Political Science Association, C1976); Scenario, Canada And The United European Community : A Simulation Exercise, Lawrence V. Gould, Jr. (Halifax, N.S. : Centre For Foreign Policy Studies, Dept. Of Political Science, Dalhousie University, 1979).

[13] See Marshall DG, "Socratic Method And The Irreducible Core Of Legal Education," Minnesota Law Review 90 (1): 1-17 Nov 2005; Carey T and Mullan R, "What Is Socratic Questioning?" Psychotherapy 41 (3): 217-226 Fall 2004; Morrell K, "Socratic Dialogue As A Tool For Teaching Business Ethics," Journal Of Business Ethics 53 (4): 383-392 Sep 2004; Malacinski Gm, "Student-Oriented Learning: An Inquiry-Based Developmental Biology Lecture Course," International Journal Of Developmental Biology 47 (2-3): 135-140 Sp. Iss. Si 2003; Parkinson Mg, Ekachai D, "The Socratic Method In The Introductory PR Course: An Alternative Pedagogy,” Public Relations Review 28 (2): 167-174 Jun 2002; Holt C, "Teaching Economics With Classroom Experiments: A Symposium," Southern Economic Journal 65 (3): 603-610 Jan 1999; Siebert U, "Teaching Without Preaching - Leonard Nelson's Neo-Socratic Method," Zeitschrift Fur Padagogik 44 (3): 432-435 May-Jun 1998; Holme Ta, "Using The Socratic Method In Large Lecture Course - Increasing Student Interest And Involvement By Forming Instantaneous Groups," Journal Of Chemical Education 69 (12): 974-977 Dec 1992; Ponge D., "The Socratic Method Produces Enlightened Employees," Quality Progress 25 (1): 104-104 Jan 1992; Guliuzza F, "In-Class Debating In Public-Law Classes As A Complement To The Socratic Method," Political Science & Politics 24 (4): 703-705 Dec 1991.

Ten Core Worksheets

Core Worksheets

Laure Paquette, Ph.D.

Lakehead University
Core Worksheets

What follows are descriptions, instructions and examples of ten core worksheets that can be used for the development or analysis of strategy in all its applications. This was developed in order to help people use or analyze strategy when it is not possible to be in immediate contact with their professor or trainer. Because the number of worksheets needed to be limited, they were chosen either to address the difficulties most common among people using strategy or in order to make a comprehensive analysis of a strategy’s environment. Some are harder to grasp than others. For each worksheet, there is an explanation of its purpose, a blank worksheet, a set of instructions on how to fill it out, and a sample. For all the worksheets, the samples are drawn from the same hypothetical situation, that of soldiers on patrol having captured a prisoner and returning to base camp over a two-day period.

The goal of the worksheets is not to provide an exhaustive (and exhausting) set of minutely described steps in order to reach a single correct conclusion. Rather, the intention here is to provide support for the art of designing or analyzing a strategy. In most cases, there are no single correct answers or correct ways to interpret the forms, and it is with trepidation that I even provide instructions, since what matters is the engagement of the individual or group filling these out, not identifying a foolproof way of getting the right answer. The worksheets are not necessarily obvious to use at first, and to be proficient the user needs to practice on average 6 or 7 times. Once the user is proficient, however, s/he should only use the worksheets when there is a problem to be solved or as long as it is necessary for the strategy or strategic analysis to be completed in his/her mind.

The ten worksheets are:

1. Strategy
2. Key Actors
3. An Actor’s Actions or Tactics
4. Resources A Strategy Can Draw On
5. Rules of the Game
6. All Other Factors
7. Steps and Nodes
8. Tactics and Counter Tactics
9. Core Idea
10. Integration Diary
    Worksheet 1: Strategy

In this worksheet, the participant is expected to identify the components of a strategy to answer a particular challenge. As with the integration diary, the participant should use point form and no more than a single sheet to complete the worksheet. This will force him/her to be conceptually specific, and to choose among competing priorities. This way, the trainer can assess the judgment of the participant as well as his or her capacity to think using strategy with mètis. Those components are the problem, to be described succinctly in the top box, “Issue”; the solution to that problem that suits the participant best, again to be described succinctly in the middle box, “Goal”; and the steps that will have the participant reach the goal, or the method he plans to use, of the collection of actions s/he plans to use, in the bottom box, “Tactics.” A strategy need not be developed only in adversarial circumstances – it can be used to rise to a challenge of any type. But because it is demanding to develop and implement, it is usually only used in dire circumstances where there are at least one and usually many enemy players. As usual, the participant must be detailed, specific, succinct, and must stay at one level of generality or detail throughout the worksheet.

Worksheet 1: Strategy

Issue

Goal

Core idea

Tactics 1. 2. 3. 4.

As an example, let us assume that the camp would need to either give greater rest or care to exhausted or wounded troops, or that there are particular supplies or equipment that requires protection. Those would be placed in the camp where they would be the most protected. Hence, the core idea adopted below would be: “Let’s circle around the queen bee” with the rest of the troops being the worker bees around the hive.

Sample Worksheet 1

Issue tired troops in a hostile environment

Goal provide secure, safe and restful environment for troops for one night

Core idea let’s circle around the queen bee

Tactics 1. identify most defensible location within accessible range 2. assign guard duty 3. assign tasks re: setting up camp 4. other

Worksheet 2: Key Actors

In any strategy, there are a number of possible actors. Those actors can be individuals, groups, governments or even groups of governments. The actors can be involved in the planning of your own strategy, or be on the outside. They may be helpful to your strategy, neutral, or opposed to it. They may be conscious of your strategy or actions, or they may not. But most importantly, they may have an impact either on the tactics or the strategy itself you are analyzing or designing or carrying out. The goal of this worksheet is to identify which ones may have an impact, so that you can set the others aside and concentrate your energies on the actors who matter.

Worksheet 2: Key Actors

Your Goal
Your Latest Tactic
Latest Action or Event, if different from above
Your Possible Tactic A
Your Possible Tactic B
Your Possible Tactic C
Your Possible Tactic D
All Actors	Can this actor affect your achieving the goal? (Yes or No)	Can this actor affect your latest tactic or latest event? (Yes or No)		Can this actor affect any of your possible tactics?
				Tactic A	Tactic B	Tactic C	Tactic D

Line 1: State what the goal of your strategy is.

Line 2: State what was your last action relevant to your strategy.

Line 3: State what was the last action or event, relevant to your strategy, on anybody’s part, but only if that action or event came after your last tactic.

Line 4-7: List the actions you are considering taking with respect to your strategy. You may consider up to four actions at a time.

Column 1: All Actors. You list a comprehensive list of actors in the first column. You may want to list them under various headings, such as civilian, military, domestic, foreign, army, navy, air force, etc. Do not be concerned about putting people or groups in the correct categories, just assure yourself that you list every individual and/or group possible. Ask yourself whether the groups listed ought to be broken down further into smaller groups – for example, should a foreign national government be listed as such, or should it be broken down into ministry of the interior, ministry of defense, legislators, executive council or cabinet, local government, etc. Once the comprehensive list of actors is established, the next column helps differentiate between significant and insignificant actors. Since the ongoing analysis is similarly and repeatedly reductionist. You will notice that Worksheet 2 lists a number of categories for people. Some people have influence because they are personally charismatic, or because they have some significant moral authority in a particular area. People with moral authority enjoy many of the same qualities and privileges as people with charisma. The difference between the two is that it is possible you share the charismatic person’s values and aspirations. Then there are people with access to decision-makers: they are their old friends, former schoolmates, co-workers from early days in career or political life, generous contributors to campaigns, stalwart supporters, or just generally powerful people like financiers or C.E.O.’s of major corporations. These individuals manage the contacts very carefully, so that, say, an introduction from them is both very significant and very difficult to obtain.

Column 2: A significant actor is one without whom it is impossible for the tactic cannot succeed. To be more specific, a significant actor can affect whether or not the tactic required can move the strategy toward the achievement of the goal. Ask yourself that question: who is it without whom a particular tactic is guaranteed to fail? Whose cooperation and support is essential to the success of that tactic? Which actor or actors have the power to affect the outcome? Who is, on the other hand, irrelevant? Are there actors whom you know stand no chance of affecting the outcome? Can they be spoilers? Are there other individuals or groups for which the same can be said? On the other hand, are there any groups or individuals who can affect the outcome? Are there any actors that present a picture of disproportionate influence or power on the outcome? Place the checkmarks as you go along, and then select for further analysis actors who are significant.

Since the ongoing analysis is similarly and repeatedly reductionist. You will notice that Worksheet 2 lists a number of categories for people. Some people have influence because they are personally charismatic, or because they have some significant moral authority in a particular area. People with moral authority enjoy many of the same qualities and privileges as people with charisma. The difference between the two is that it is possible you share the charismatic person’s values and aspirations. Then there are people with access to decision-makers: they are their old friends, former schoolmates, co-workers from early days in career or political life, generous contributors to campaigns, stalwart supporters, or just generally powerful people like financiers or C.E.O.’s of major corporations. These individuals manage the contacts very carefully, so that, say, an introduction from them is both very significant and very difficult to obtain.
Sample Worksheet 2 (Copy into worksheet 2)

Your Strategic Goal	Getting prisoner back to camp
Your Latest Tactic	Setting up camp for the night
Latest Action on anybody’s part, latest event	Night is falling
Your Possible Tactic A	Order black out
Your Possible Tactic B	Allow lights to be used
Your Possible Tactic C	Allow minimal lights to be used
Your Possible Tactic D

All Actors		Can this actor affect the military from achieving its goal? (Yes or No)	Can this actor affect the military’s latest tactic? (Yes or No)		Can this actor affect any of these possible tactics?
				Tactic A		Tactic B	Tactic C	Tactic D
Squad Leader		Yes	Yes		Yes	Yes	Yes
Soldier 1		Yes	Yes		No	No	No
Soldier 2		Yes	Yes		No	No	No
Soldier 3		Yes	Yes		No	No	No
Soldier 4		Yes	Yes		No	No	No
Soldier 5		Yes	Yes		No	No	No
Prisoner 1		Yes	No		No	No	No
Nearby civilian 1		Yes	No		No	No	No
Nearby civilian 2		Yes	No		No	No	No
Nearby civilian 3		Yes	No		No	No	No
Nearby civilian 4		Yes	No		No	No	No
Nearby civilian 5		Yes	No		No	No	No
Possible enemy fighter 1		Yes	Yes		Yes	Yes	Yes
Possible enemy fighter 2		Yes	Yes		Yes	Yes	Yes
Possible enemy fighter 3		Yes	Yes		Yes	Yes	Yes
Possible enemy fighter 4		Yes	Yes		Yes	Yes	Yes
Possible enemy fighter 5		Yes	Yes		Yes	Yes	Yes
Local authorities		Yes	No		No	No	No

Worksheet 3: An Actor’s Actions and Tactics

The next step in the tactical analysis of a situation focuses on the tactics, and similarly differentiates significant from insignificant actions, using Worksheet 3: An Actor’s Actions and Tactics. There are a number of actions on the part of each significant actor. Those actions may be tactics, i.e. relevant to the strategy, or not. In order to be tactics, they must directly or indirectly move the situation towards the goal being achieved. Tactics themselves may prevent the goal from being achieved or the strategy from being successful, i.e. they can be key tactics. Which of these actions are relevant to the achievement of the goal? In what situations is that unclear? If it is possible that the tactic is relevant to the goal, include it. Better to include too many than to miss some critical aspect of the strategy, which will come back later to haunt you. If you are pressed for time, list the tactics of which you are unsure, but just analyze the tactics that you are certain are relevant. If your analysis later turns out to be incomplete, you will be able to start again from this point.

Worksheet 3: An Actor’s Actions and Tactics

Actor: ___________________ ڤ individual ڤgroup

Time/Date	Action	Detailed Description	Is this a tactic?	Is a response necessary?

Column 1: give the date and time of the action you are analyzing. During the first draft, you can list actions as you remember them, but in later draft it is helpful to list them chronologically. Only if more than one action takes place on a particular day do you need to list the time.

Column 2: give a title to the action you are analyzing.

Column 3: give a detailed description of the action you are describing. Use point form rather than full sentences: this will help focus on the most important features of the action.

Column 4: an action is a tactic if it is relevant to the achievement of the goal identified in the strategy. If the answer to the question: “Does this affect reaching my goal in any way?” is yes, than the action is a tactic. Only if the answer is “yes” do you proceed to Column 5.

Column 5: if the action is a tactic, i.e. if it is relevant to the strategy, then it may or may not require a response. In other words, did the tactic have an effect that was bad for your chances of achieving your strategy? If so, a response is necessary and the answer is ‘yes.’ If the tactic may have had an effect that was bad for your chances of achieving your strategy, then a response is necessary and the answer is ‘yes.’ Whether an effective response is possible is a question for a later worksheet.
Sample Worksheet 3: An Actor’s Actions and Tactics

Actor: prisoner ڤ individual ڤgroup

Time/Date	Action	Detailed Description	Is this a tactic?	Is a response necessary?
1st day of capture, 6 pm	smokes	Asks for a cigarette, is given a cigarette by a soldier, has cigarette lit, squats down, smokes cigarette	no
1st day of capture, 3 pm	Drinks water	Tries to drink water from a stream, is stopped by soldier, asks for water, is given a bottle of water, unscrews the cap, drinks entire contents, screws cap back on, returns bottle to soldier	No
1st day of capture, 6:30 pm	Eats dinner	Is given vegetarian rations and plastic fork, unwraps rations, opens plastic box, uses fork to taste food, grimaces and complains, eats remainder, gives back fork and food wraps to soldier	No
1st day of capture, on and off	Observes his captors	Squats down and watches soldiers go about the task of setting up camp and other duties	Yes	No
1st day of capture, 6 pm	Observes the soldiers assigned specifically to guard him	Squats down and watches the soldier specifically guarding him	Yes	No
1st day of capture, 8 pm	Tries to cut his hand restraints	While soldier guarding him turns away for a moment, tries to cut the plastic restraints on his hands on a sharp rock; stops when soldier turns back towards him	Yes	Yes

Worksheet 4: Resources A Strategy Can Draw On

The third step is the identification of resources, using Worksheet 4: Resources A Strategy Can Draw On. Put at its broadest, resources which make tactics possible are generated by “the symbolic experiences, mythic lore, and ritual practices of a group or society [that] create moods and motivations, ways of organizing experience and evaluating reality, modes of regulating conduct, and way of forming social bonds”.[1] Conventional wisdom usually finds that money is the most important resource, and it can certainly be a severely limiting factor. Much more scarce and harder to increase is the attention and good will of people with power. It is also much easier to squander inadvertently. The four general types of resources discussed below are: the right equipment, the right people, time, and information.

There are two categories of equipment and materiel: equipment you have, in which case the issue is deciding how to use it; and equipment you do not have, in which case the issue is finding it and justifying it. First, you need to decide how much and what kind of equipment you actually need. There are three types of equipment or materiel that you may need: those that are essential to success, those that would make a significant difference to success, and those that would be nice, but are not sure to make a significant difference to success. There are also things that affect politicians, who control the purse strings of the overall operations, which you may include here. You have to be pragmatic: some equipment may not be as important as you think.

Although more ink is spilled and meetings held on money and money-related issues than anything else, the most important resource is human: skills, energy, numbers. The first step is to establish what skills are useful, and then scan for them among the significant actors. Among the non-technical skills that may be needed are: command, writing, speaking, planning, research, tactical analysis, strategic analysis, forecasting, calm under pressure, good judgment, integrity, courage. Resources can be finite or limitless, helpful or neutral, essential or critical (or not) to the success of a tactic. Worksheet 4: Resources A Strategy Can Draw On should be filled out listing as many of the resources as possible.

Worksheet 4: Resources a Strategy Can Draw On

Resource	Effect on tactic	Limited?	Helpful?	Essential?

Column 1: List here all the materials, services, people (beyond the people who are carrying out the strategy with your), information, and funds that you need to achieve your goal. The list should be comprehensive, i.e. it should include absolutely everything you will need. In order to increase the chances of writing a comprehensive list, it is helpful to look at categories of resources, so that you are less likely to forget anything. You may use as categories materials, services, people, information and funds. You may also develop categories that are specific to your situation, as has been done in sample worksheet 4.

Column 2: here, describe the effect that a particular resource has on the tactic you are considering applying next. For example, if the squad leader in the example given already is considering whether to use lights or not, he needs to think about the power source for those lights and whether it is renewable or if there is enough non-renewable power source for his light.

The next three columns are answered ‘yes’ or ‘no.’

Column 3: is the resource being analyzed in this line limited or not? Is there a specific amount of it available, or is there plenty of it around? For example, if the squad leader needs water for soldiers to wash some equipment, and the camp is near a river, then that water resource is not limited. If, on the other hand, the squad leader is considering whether to allow lights, and the lamps are all kerosene, the amount of kerosene he has with him is limited. He may have enough for his foreseeable needs, or even more than his foreseeable needs, but it is still a specific amount available. Whether the resource is limited or not is an important point for carrying out the strategy. The strategist needs to take into account the limited resources as the strategy unfolds.

Column 4: Is the resource being analyzed helpful to the goal being reached? Is it something that will move the strategy forward? If so, the answer is yes. For example, having fuel for vehicles will definitely move the squad leader’s strategy of bringing his prisoner back to the military base forward. The same can be true of a number of resources. Whether soldiers have recreational reading with them does not directly move the strategy about the prisoner forward. The answer then would be no. Only for those resources with the answer ‘yes’ in this column need to be analyzed further.

Column 5: If the answer in the previous column is yes, then it is necessary to analyze the resource further. Here, ask yourself whether the resource being analyzed is absolutely necessary for reaching the goal, whether if there is none of this particular resource left you could still achieve the goal. If so, then you may write ‘yes’ in this column. If the squad leader runs out of fuel for his vehicles, he can still walk to base and reach his mission. There would be considerably more danger involved, but it would still be possible. So the answer here would be no. However, if the squad leader were to run out of ammunition and continued to encounter enemy fighters, then it would become impossible to carry out the strategy because the enemy fighters would kill everyone in the squad. Whether the resource is limited or not is an important point for carrying out the strategy, but if it is an essential resource, then the strategist has to put it at the highest priority.

Sample Worksheet 4: Resources A Strategy Can Draw On

This list is an illustration of the type of analysis that needs to be done; it is not a complete list of resources necessary.

Resource	Effect on tactic	Finite?	Helpful?	Essential?
Water for equipment	N	N	Y	N
Fuel for lamps	Y	Y	Y	N
Food	N	Y	Y	Y
Drinking water	N	Y	Y	Y
Ammunition	N	Y	Y	Y
Fuel for vehicles	N	Y	Y	N
Spare parts for vehicles	N	Y	Y	N
Change of clothes	N	Y	Y	N
Medication for cuts	N	Y	Y	N
Medication for illness	N	Y	Y	N
Bandages	N	Y	Y	N
Spare parts for weapons	N	Y	Y	Y

Worksheet 5: Rules of the Game

The fifth step in the tactical analysis requires an examination of the rules that form a system. A system is a coherent whole of processes or practices that are organized or institutionalized; it sometimes takes the form of a combination of rules that produce a predictable effect on the outcome. The role of a system is to ensure a defined function or role, or guarantee the production of a particular result. Such systems can be helpful or not, essential or not, to the outcome of the strategy. They are particularly critical when it comes to fourth generation warfare. You are operating in a heavily constrained environment, and not all the rules are written down, let alone known. Systems can be either formal or informal, and they may be incomplete; if you are dealing with hostiles, these rules may not be obvious although yours will be to them. Systems are enforced through sanctions, so one way to spot informal systems is to watch for behavior changes among the hostile actors, and then look for the factors that led to the modification. If there were sanctions, then you are on the right track. Sanctions tend to be obvious, even if the system leading to them is not.

Systems can affect actions, be they tactics, the management of resources, or strategies. Systems can also affect the significance of actions. In addition to the considerable formal rules, which are easy to identify, at least, there can be informal rules to consider, governing ethics or choices of allocation of scarce resources. There could be local cultural practices which may have to be taken into consideration. Worksheet 5: Inventory of Rules, lists the rules of the system, and their analysis.

Worksheet 5: Rules of the Game

Rule	Description	Formal (yes/no)?	Helpful (yes/no)?	Essential (yes/no)?
Actions
People
Resources
Time management
Cultural etc. factors
Intelligence
Attitude towards casualties
Other rules

Column 1: List here all the formal and informal rules about materials, services, people (beyond the people who are carrying out the strategy with your), information, and funds that you need to achieve your goal. The list should be comprehensive, i.e. it should include absolutely everything you will need. In order to increase the chances of writing a comprehensive list, it is helpful to look at categories of rules, listed above, so that you are less likely to forget anything. You may use as categories materials, services, people, information and funds. You may also develop categories that are specific to your situation, as has been done in sample worksheet 5.

Column 2: here, describe the effect that a particular rule has on the tactic you are considering applying next. Rules constrain behavior, but it is important to be aware of how and why each rule constrains which behavior or action. For example, if the squad leader in the example given already is considering whether to withhold medical care from a prisoner or not, he needs to think about the rules governing prisoners of war and enemy fighters. The squad leader also needs to consider whether his conscience or culture provides him with rules in this situation.

The next three columns are answered ‘yes’ or ‘no.’

Column 3: is the rule being analyzed in this line formal or not? Would infringing this rule have consequences in the near- or long-term? For example, if the squad leader has more need of medical care than he has resources to meet that need, is he within his rights to withhold medical care from the prisoner? Or does that prisoner come first? Or should he make his decision, as best he can, on the basis of medical need? What are his orders in this regard? What are the general orders on this matter? Do the Geneva conventions on treatment of prisoners of war apply? Do any other international conventions apply? To make this decision and so many others, the squad leader needs to understand the rules applying to his situation. The strategist needs to take into account the rules as the strategy unfolds.

Column 4: Is the rule being analyzed helpful to the goal being reached? Is it something that will move the strategy forward? If so, the answer is yes. For example, there may be standing orders not to execute prisoners on the spot, but to return them to camp. If the squad leader’s strategy is to bring the prisoner back for interrogation, then the order or rule is helpful. Some rules may simply be irrelevant: for example, there may be rules regarding environmental protection and the river nearby, but if there are no fuel spills during the encampment, then the rules about how to deal with that do not apply. The same can be true of a number of rules. For example, there may be standing orders regarding the use of personal laptops. But if no soldiers are carrying them during the patrol, those rules are simply irrelevant. The answer then would be no. Only for those resources with the answer ‘yes’ in this column need to be analyzed further.

Column 5: If the answer in the previous column is yes, then it is necessary to analyze the rule further. Here, ask yourself whether the rule being analyzed is absolutely necessary for reaching the goal, whether if this rule is broken or ignored, whether you could still achieve the goal. If so, then you may write ‘yes’ in this column. For example, if the squad leader ignores a fuel spill because his patrol comes under enemy fire, he can still get his patrol and his prisoner back to the base. There could be consequences for that squad leader, but reaching the goal is still possible. So the answer would be no. However, if the squad leader were to deny medical care to the prisonner, and the prisoner were to die from it, the goal would not be achieved and the consequences for the squad leader would still occur. For those rules, then the strategist has to put it at the highest priority.

Sample Worksheet 5: Inventory of Rules

This list is an illustration of the type of analysis that needs to be done; it is not a complete list of rules necessary

Rule	Description	Formal (yes/no)?	Helpful (yes/no)?	Essential (yes/no)?
Geneva conventions	International treaty regarding the treatment of civilians in war and prisoners of war	y	y	N
Procedures regarding patrol	How to conduct a patrol in unknown and possibly hostile territory	y	y	Y
Specific orders regarding patrol	Objectives for that specific patrol, such as traveling in a particular area, watching for particular activities, etc.	N	y	Y
Standing orders regarding prisoners	Procedures regarding how to restrain, guard, interrogate, and generally treat prisoners	Y	y	N
Standing orders regarding fuel spills contaminating water	Procedures and regulations about how to deal with the spill of various types of fuel in to various types of bodies of water	Y	y	N
Moral imperatives regarding treatment of another human being	Expectations, values, and principles about humanity instilled by culture and association	N	y	y
Procedures regarding allocation of medical care	Guidance for behavior in making decisions about who gets what kind of medical care when, including various types of individuals who may be in the charge of a squad leader	y	y	y

Worksheet 6: All Other Factors

The fourth step in tactical analysis is to analyze what factors favor or work against your tactical or strategic goal. Among these factors are forces, trends, or events that affect the outcome, which you can list in Worksheet 5: All Other Factors. Factors may not be in anyone’s control or necessarily predictable: there could be a sudden storm, a stock market could crash and destabilize the economy, a new virus could emerge, someone important might suddenly die or become disabled, a fanatic might call on the population to rise. The only way to identify these factors is to scan the environment in which your tactic will take place. To avoid missing any factors, it is better to divide the relevant environment spatially, temporally or functionally into different sectors and then scan each sector. The environment could be divided up spatially, temporally, or functionally. It is also possible to divide up the environment according the major players involved in the strategy or tactic.

Worksheet 6: All Other Factors

Desired Strategic Outcome: ___________________________

→→→→→→→→→→→→→→→→→→→→→→→

Driving Factors → ←Restraining Factors

________________→ ←_______________

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________________→ ←_______________

The desired strategic outcome is the goal listed in the strategy. These may include goals drawn from a variety of categories, or can be very simple. Among the categories from which goals may be drawn are: complete elimination of hostile actors, complete elimination of fatalities of civilians, complete elimination of fatalities of military, complete elimination of fatalities of civilians and military, complete elimination of casualties of civilians, complete elimination of casualties of civilians, elimination of both civilian and military casualties, instauration of rule of law everywhere, instauration of rule of law in rural areas, instauration of rule of law in cities, instauration rule of law in some sectors, instauration of rule democratic institutions everywhere, instauration of democratic institutions in rural areas, instauration of democratic institutions in cities, instauration of democratic institutions in some sectors, and others. In the case of our ongoing example, the squad leader’s goal is simply to return to base or base camp with the prisoner.

Driving factors may include public anxiety, political pressure, or threats in other locations. In the case of our ongoing example, the squad leader would have no control over the weather. Certain types of weather could be favorable, such as preventing attacks from the air, or other types of weather might make the patrol’s work more difficult, such as rain so intense it washes out roads and turns creeks that could be crossed into torrents that could not be crossed. Restraining factors in a broader military situation may include budget constraints, lack of information, few effective measures, lack of guides, lack of guidelines, and lack of experience.

Sample Worksheet 6: All Other Factors

Desired Strategic Outcome: returning to camp with prisoner alive

→→→→→→→→→→→→→→→→→→→→→→→

Driving Factors → ←Restraining Factors

Favorable weather → ←lack of experience

Popular expectations → ←lack of information

threats in other locations → ←lack of applicable procedures, orders

Worksheet 7: Strategic Pathway

The strategic pathway is the succession of steps which are likeliest to lead to the achievement of the goal, for a particular tactic. It can be identified using a three-step process: first, all possible steps to the goal are identified; second, the significant steps out of all the possible ones are identified; third, the critical steps are identified. The strategic pathway is made up of the critical steps, i.e. strategic nodes.

Worksheet 7: Steps and Nodes, asks the questions relevant to the first part. What are the steps to achieving the goal? For each step, what are the alternative steps that can also lead to goal? What are the scenarios you can think of that will achieve the goal? Who decides? Who has the power to make the changes? What are the other possibilities? Are any of the alternatives more effective? Economical, not just in terms of money, but also in terms of other resources? Likely to succeed? What arguments are convincing to those who decide? What factors affect the decisions of those who decide? If you were to work backwards, how would you set the steps?

Worksheet 7 also assists in identifying the strategic nodes. Among the questions are: What are the critical actors, actions, resources, rules? Where are they situated on in relationship to another? Draw a picture of the relationships and locations. For every critical location, draw a big red circle. That is a strategic node. Then compare to your tactical plan. Are you focused on those nodes? Are you concentrating your efforts there? How does this change your own planning to reach your goals?

Worksheet 7: Steps and Nodes

Strategic Goal: __________________________________

Pathway 1 Alternative 1 Alternative 2

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STRATEGIC GOAL

Circle nodes on each pathway.
The strategic goal is the goal that is given in the strategy from worksheet 1.

In the first column, write out each of the steps necessary to reach the goal, in sequence. This first column is for reaching the goal with no surprises or problems. You must fill in the steps until you reach your goal. Each step should represent a single tactic or action contributing to your goal. You need to list all the steps necessary to reach your goal. Next, you need to identify which steps are absolutely essential to your reaching your goal. Consider each step in turn, and ask yourself whether it would still be possible to reach the goal if you failed at this step. If the answer is ‘yes’, then you can circle that step. That is a strategic node, and you need to develop alternatives to make sure that you get beyond that step.

In the middle column, write alternative steps to reach the goal for each of the problems you can anticipate at a strategic node. If at any point your pathway starts to be the same as in column 1, then just draw an arrow returning to that step. Next, you need to identify which steps are absolutely essential to your reaching your goal. Consider each step in turn, and ask yourself whether it would still be possible to reach the goal if you failed at this step. If the answer is ‘yes’, then you can circle that step. That is again a strategic node, and you need to develop an alternative to make sure you get past it.

In the right-hand column, fill in the steps to reach your goal if another set of problems occurs after what you have predicted in the middle column. Again, fill in the steps until you reach the goal, and if at any point your pathway starts to be the same as in the middle or left-hand column, then just draw an arrow returning to that step. You may use more than one copy of the worksheet if necessary. Remember to number the worksheets sequentially if you do that.

In the example given, the patrol struggle to get the prisoner back to base camp. On the way back, one of the vehicles gets a flat tire, and then the patrol comes under enemy fire. The squad leader deals with each situation, and adapts the pathway to return to base camp with his prisoner.

Worksheet 7: Steps and Nodes

Strategic Goal: _____getting prisoner back to camp_______

Pathway 1 Alternative 1 Alternative 2

Assign guards to prisoner …………………………… _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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Travel 20 km on first day Travel 12 km on first day _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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Set up camp for night Vehicle gets flat tire _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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Travel 20 km on second day Set up camp for day/night _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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Set up camp for second night Repair flat _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

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Travel 10 km to base camp Travel 20 km on second day Travel 5 km on second day

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______________________ Set up camp for second night Come under enemy fire

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______________________ Travel 18 km to base camp Radio for air support

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______________________ …………………………… Return fire

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______________________ …………………………… Travel 10 km more

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______________________ …………………………… Set up camp for second night

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______________________ …………………………… Travel 20 km on third day

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______________________ …………………………… Set up camp for third night

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______________________ …………………………… Travel 15 km to base camp

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STRATEGIC GOAL

Circle nodes on each pathway.

Worksheet 8: Tactics and Counter Tactics

In designing a response to a tactic, retrace the steps of tactical analysis, using the same sequence of worksheets and instructions as above. Countervailing tactics designed within the framework of a broader strategy are called strategic intervention, and some general rules apply.

• Choose the tactics to which you must respond.
• Choose the earliest possible moment in the decision making process.
• Choose only key actors.
• Brainstorm the possible actions without prejudging your own or others’ ideas, but then assess them as carefully as if they were other actor’s.
• Initially choose only four possible actions, and assess the cost and benefits of each.

Once the analysis is completed, select tactics for their economy and maximum benefits. If that is not apparent, it is possible to develop multiple scenarios for outcomes, depending on how favorable various factors are to the tactic, using Worksheet 10: Countervailing Tactics. Questions to ask in terms of this latest worksheet include: Who decides? Who has the power to make the changes? What are the other possibilities? Are any of the alternatives more effective? Economical in terms of personnel, equipment, casualties? Who is likely to succeed? What arguments are convincing to those who decide? What factors affect the decisions of those who decide? If you were to work backwards, how would you set the steps? For the next phase, start with steps, then actors, then factors, then resources, then actions/tactics, then at last rules for system analysis?

Worksheet 8: Tactics and Counter Tactics

Issue: ___________________________

Goal: _______________ Goal:_________________

Tactics ►_{ }◄Countervailing Tactics

________________► ◄_______________

________________► ◄_______________

________________► ◄_______________

________________► ◄_______________

________________► ◄_______________

________________► ◄_______________

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The issue listed at the top of the worksheet is the issue identified in the first worksheet, the problem on which you are working. The two columns represent the tactics of two actors. On the left is one actor, which can be you, and on the right is another actor who does not share the same strategic goal. For each actor, the strategic goal is identified in the first worksheet. The goals need not be contradictory: they need only not be identical. Under the heading Tactics, on the left, list all the actions that move that actor towards the strategic goal chosen. Under the heading Countervailing Tactics, on the right, list all the actions that move that actor towards the other strategic goal chosen. The tactics and counter tactics do not have to match up, although many of them will. The list on each side needs to be complete, so that it may be useful to use categories of tactics to make sure you are not missing any.

Sample Worksheet 8: Tactics and Counter Tactics

Issue: returning prisoner to base camp

Goal: returning to base camp Goal: prisoner seeks to escape

Tactics ►_{ }◄Countervailing Tactics

Assigns guard ► ◄Observes guard

Ties up prisoner’s hands ► ◄Tries to free hands

Gives prisoner medical care ► ◄Observes all soldiers

Gives prisoner food and water► ◄Eats, drinks to keep up strength

Worksheet 9: Core Idea

Because coming up with a core idea is often the most difficult part of the exercise, there is a short worksheet that can be completed quickly that will stimulate the thinking of the participants. This worksheet is designed to force the participant to start thinking beyond the rational, linear model that has served him/her so far so well. The goal of the worksheet is to get the process of thinking metaphorically established, and then to give the participant some practice. It is deliberately simple to foster and focus thinking with strategy including mètis. The sample worksheet is being completed with the same task as set out above, setting up camp for the night. Not all the metaphors are actually practical or helpful. The point is to produce a number of them so that the participant can then develop the capacity to judge which are better or more practical.

Worksheet 9: Core Idea

Category	Suggested Metaphors, Images, Analogies, Role Models	Your Metaphors, Images, Role Models, Analogies	Core Idea
Military	Machine gun, rifle, tank
Geographical	river, waterfall, creek
Plant	tree, fern, Venus flytrap
Transportation	bus, golf cart, car
Sports	Caddy, gymnast, football
Mechanical	wrench, Allen key, ratchet
Insects	mosquito, ant, butterfly
Animals	cougar, puma, rhinoceros
Role models	Princess Diana, Donald Trump, Gandhi
Your own category:	Your own metaphors:

Category

Suggested Metaphors, Images, Analogies

Your Metaphors, Images, Slogans, Analogies

Core Idea

In the third column, list the metaphors, images, role models or images that come to your mind that fit the same category. In the fourth column, chose one image or metaphor and work it into a slogan that captures how you want to achieve your goal. Repeat these steps for the other categories. At the bottom of the page is a blank space for you to write in a category of images and metaphors that come to mind during this phase of your thinking. Then list the images or metaphors that come to mind, and then develop a slogan using that metaphor or image.

When the worksheet is completed, you will then have several possible core ideas to choose from for your strategy.

Sample Worksheet 9: Core Idea

Category	Analogies, Metaphors, Images, Role Models	Your own analogies, metaphors, images, role models	Core ideas
Military	machine gun, rifle, tank	battalion, submarine, armoured personnel carrier	Work together like a c-3 gun and a shell
Geographical	river, waterfall, creek	Mountain, plateau, desert	A 24-hour oasis
Plant	tree, fern, Venus flytrap	Flower, tomato, potato	Let’s close up camp like one of those evening prayer plants
Transportation	bus, golf cart, car	Truck, walking, running, bicycle	Let’s make our break like a cruise ship for the night
Sports	Caddy, gymnast, football	Soccer, tennis, ping pong
Mechanical	wrench, Allen key, ratchet	Silicone gun, screwdriver
Insects	mosquito, ant, butterfly	Bee, wasp, slug	Let’s circle around the queen bee
Animals	cougar, puma, rhinoceros	Tiger, lion, gazelle, turtle
Role models	Princess Diana, Donald Trump, Gandhi	Mother Theresa, Montgomery of Alamein
Your own category: jobs	Your own metaphors: Teacher, nurse, babysitter, accountant, bodyguard

Worksheet 10: Integration Diary

The integration diary’s goal is to help the participant become aware of how s/he learns, so that s/he eventually will be able to become a better learner regarding counterinsurgency. The report is structure to bring the participant to increasing levels of abstraction, i.e. it provides an additional chance to experience telescoping. The form is supposed to be completed in point form only, so that the participant works with individual ideas and concepts, rather than having the chance to be descriptive. The diary must be completed in the space provided to force the participant to choose among various possibilities, and therefore learn what priorities on which to focus. There are no right or wrong answers for this, or any other, worksheet. The point is to make explicit the processes of the participant’s learning.

Worksheet 10: Integration Diary

Topic of Report:	In my view the important components are:	Because:
Links with previous learning about strategic thinking:	My thoughts about this topic are:
I have a better understanding of:	I am more effective at:	I am more likely to:
I want to learn more about:	What I can use…	where?

Topic of report this is the specific aspect that the participant wishes to analyze in greater detail. There should be only one topic, for example: counterinsurgency, not ‘counterinsurgency and planning.’ The topic should be specific rather than vague. The topic should also be at the same level of generality as the rest of the content of the worksheet.

In my view, the important components are: here, the participant should break down the topic of his/her choice into components. This process should continue until it is no longer possible to break the topic down any further. The participant then selects the components which will be discussed in the worksheet. Not all components will be analyzed.

Because: Here the participants gives the reasons why the components selected are important enough to continue to work with. Here the participant must select priorities once again, explicitly. This process occurs in everyday life, but it is not explicit.

Links with previous learning in strategic thinking: here, the participant must think over what s/he has learned about strategic thinking in the past, and identify where the topic under consideration connects with what s/he already knows.

My thoughts about this topic are: the reason for this box is that the participant will have a wide range of reactions to the learning that has just occurred. This box allows him/her to make those thoughts explicit, and also to provide him/her with the opportunity to set them aside for future consideration, if necessary. The participant is now less encumbered with other thoughts to continue the analysis.

I have a better understanding of: for the learning to be genuine, there has to be a greater comprehension of some, possibly several, phenomena. In this box, the participant is expected to provide at least one of these.

I am more effective at: for the learning to be genuine, there has to be a change in behavior. That change can be either an improvement in an existing behavior, or a change in the probability that a particular action or course of action will be chosen. In this box, the participant is expected to list at least one such improvement.

I am more likely to: for the learning to be genuine, there has to be a change in behavior. Sometimes that behavior is mental or psychological. That change can ebe either an improvement in an existing behavior, or a change in the probability that a particular action or course of action will be chosen. In this box, the participant is expected to list at least one such change in probability.

In the last three boxes, the participant must become very specific and concrete about what the learning has done for him/her.

I want to learn more about: learning is a chain, and in an earlier box the participant was required to identify what previous learning on this topic s/he had done. Here, the participant must identify what s/he would most want to study next.

What I can use: of the learning that has occurred and has been identified, the participant must now select what has practical or immediate applications in his/her responsibilities or life. In this box, the participant must identify the elements of learning that he can actually apply.

Where? Of the learning that has occurred and has been identified, the participant must now specify what applications exist for the elements of learning that s/he has identified. It is important for participants to be as specific as possible.

Sample Worksheet 10: Integration Diary

Topic of Report: telescoping	In my view the important components are: Levels of abstraction Changing levels of abstraction Obstacles to changing levels	Because: This is the crux of the task to be done This is the skill I have to learn or develop This is what I have to overcome
Links with previous learning about strategic thinking: Old definition of strategy Old definition of tactics	My thoughts about this topic are: Limits to what I can learn in a single day Why hasn’t mètis been discussed before anywhere?	Unsure of how much I can actually telescope Confused about the way I’m being trained here
I have a better understanding of: How this can help me understand insurgents	I am more effective at: Picking out fellow soldiers who can do this metis	I am more likely to: take into account who is a strategic corporal and who isn’t when I plan
I want to learn more about: How insurgents think	What I can use… The test	where? With soldiers in my unit when we deploy

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[1]. Ann Swidler, “Culture in Action: Symbols and Strategies,” American Sociological Review 51:2 (April 1986), 273-286.