E-International Relations (E-IR) was founded 10 years ago. To celebrate E-IR’s 10th anniversary we asked some our blog curators to reflect on what blogging means to them, and to their discipline. 

The Art of Strategy blog allows us to explore the intersection of theory and practice.  We are guided by joint military doctrine that asserts there is an art of strategy that has to take into consideration the political and strategic context which is inextricably linked to designing viable operational military plans that are aimed at achieving desired strategic outcomes in part or in whole.  We feel that the complexity of modern warfare dictates that a wide theoretical net be cast in order to apply theory to the practical application of military means.  To this end, we are thankful that E-International Relations (E-IR) has offered us a venue to explore this intersection and solicit responses from academics from all over the world.

We consider our blog to also be a forum for thought.  We are not the only voices present on our blog.  We have opened it up to other military professional educators and military students.  We have had some success soliciting and posting their thoughts.  As practitioners, the E-IR forum exposes their thoughts to academic/theoretical scrutiny which we hope will begin a dialogue on strategy between academics who post and visit E-IR and the practitioners we present.  Further, because the professors and officers from the US and allied militaries know they are posting on an academic forum, it forces everyone posting on our site to strongly consider the theoretical foundations and implications of their ideas, thoughts, and practices.

The opportunity to interact with academics and theoreticians on E-IR is integral to preventing discussions on military thought and practices turning into an echo chamber.  We welcome, we actually need, critical commentary on our and other practitioner’s writing in order to turn theory into good military practice.  We are grateful to E-IR for this continued opportunity and we hope that others consider taking the time to comment on some of our submissions.

Further Reading on E-International Relations

• A Middle Path? US Public Opinion and Grand Strategy
• Why India Needs a Gender Policy for its Armed Forces
• Opinion – Could Vietnamese-Style Hedging Have Prevented an All-Out War in Ukraine?
• Turkey’s Operation Olive Branch: Why is Turkey Attacking the YPG in Syria?
• Reducing Greenhouse Gases Is a Security Issue
• Thinking Global Podcast – Kathleen McInnis