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Strategy is action in space and time. It is impossible to conceive of strategic behaviour outside of time, and the management of temporal factors plays a substantial role in determining the path and outcome of conflict. Yet time’s role in strategy has been empirically under-studied and theoretically neglected by scholars. This paper addresses this by identifying four constituent concepts of time for strategists: Order, Duration, Significance and Transition. The paper explores how each applies to and can improve our understanding of strategic behaviour. The paper concludes by outlining some of the promising avenues of policy opportunity and scholarly research.

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Author information

Andrew Carr

Andrew Carr is a Senior Lecturer in the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre at the Australian National University. His research focuses on strategy, middle powers and Australian defence policy. He has published with Oxford University Press, Georgetown University Press and journals such as Asia Policy, and the Australian Journal of International Affairs. Dr Carr is the editor of the Centre of Gravity policy paper series.

Acknowledgements

This paper evolved over several major iterations. The author would like to thank the following people for their insight and support, Robert Ayson, Stephan Frühling, Anthea McCarthy-Jones, Paul Dibb, Iain Henry, John Blaxland and the two anonymous peer reviewers.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.