From then until the 20th century, the word "strategy" came to denote "a comprehensive way to try to pursue political ends, including the threat or actual use of force, in a dialectic of wills" in a military conflict, in which both adversaries interact.
while Max McKeown (2011) argues that "strategy is about shaping the future" and is the human attempt to get to "desirable ends with available means".
Vladimir Kvint defines strategy as "a system of finding, formulating, and developing a doctrine that will ensure long-term success if followed faithfully.
[7] The father of Western modern strategic study, Carl von Clausewitz, defined military strategy as "the employment of battles to gain the end of war."
B. H. Liddell Hart's definition put less emphasis on battles, defining strategy as "the art of distributing and applying military means to fulfill the ends of policy".
Naval War College instructor Andrew Wilson defined strategy as the "process by which political purpose is translated into military action.
[14] Similarly, the United Kingdom's counterterrorism strategy, CONTEST, seeks "to reduce the risk to the UK and its citizens and interests overseas from terrorism so that people can go about their lives freely and with confidence.
[22][23][24] In 1998, Crouch defined the strategic problem as maintaining flexible relationships that can range from intense competition to harmonious cooperation among different players in a dynamic market.
While Crouch was open to the idea of cooperation between players, his approach still emphasized that strategy is shaped by market conditions and organizational structure.
According to them, a strategic problem arises from analysis of internal and external issues, the processes to solve them, and the variables involved.
[23] Complexity science, as articulated by R. D. Stacey, represents a conceptual framework capable of harmonizing emergent and deliberate strategies.
Conversely, strategy emerges from a simultaneous examination of determined conditions (order) and uncertainties (disorder) that drive action.
Complexity theory posits that strategy involves execution, encompasses control and emergence, scrutinizes both internal and external organizational aspects, and can take the form of maneuvers or any other act or process.
[23][34] This model conceives the social organization of production as an interplay between two distinct systems existing in a symbiotic relationship while interconnected with the external environment.
Given this issue, the authors conclude that organizations intervening to maintain the environment's stability within suitable parameters for survival tend to exhibit greater longevity.
He described strategy as solving a design problem, with trade-offs among various elements that must be arranged, adjusted and coordinated, rather than a plan or choice.