Anchoring Fashions in the Field of Strategic Studies

Abstract The introduction of nuclear weapons fundamentally impacted strategic thinking as well as its study. The threat of nuclear war attracted many scholars to the field and allowed the field to prosper. This threat also sidelined historical approaches to the benefit of more abstract reasoning such as game theory. This chapter argues that the early focus on nuclear weapons and the Cold War rivalry strongly shaped research in the field in ways still visible today. Strategic Studies continues to be characterized by a close connection between scholars and practitioners, a focus on states as key actors, a focus on means and methods of warfare, and a tendency to focus on recent events and the policy topics of the day. This chapter outlines these dynamics and shows how they drive conceptual innovation and fashionability.