Edward Luttwak s Analysis On Military Force, Military...

Edward Luttwak’s analysis of Roman strategy evaluates the link between military force, military power, policy, and deterrence. Luttwak describes force as the actual application of a state’s military capability while power is derived from the state’s perceived ability to impose force. The Romans employed a combination of force and power to achieve their policy aims regarding security. Deterrence provides security by relying on power and the threat of force to prevent an adversary from committing an unwanted act. Today, United States policy leverages the nation’s perceived power, bolstered by its potential to employ force, in order to deter aggression by potential adversaries and enhance security. To begin, it is important to explore Luttwak’s definitions of force and power. He describes the use of military force as a finite ability to directly apply military means in order to force an adversary’s compliance. A state’s ability to use force is thus limited by the size of its military capability and its ability to concentrate that capability against an enemy. More importantly, once military forces are committed to an action they are no longer available to pursue other objectives and are essentially consumed. The implication is that reliance on military force limits a state’s ability to achieve its objectives to the amount of force it can employ at a given time and place. Examples of the finite nature of military force are numerous. Luttwak points to