Strategy

From Geography

The term strategy plays an important role for the game in power relations, by Michel Foucault. Strategy is a game and which Foucault subdivide into three levels.

The first level is to define a certain end, what is the goal of the game. 'It is a question of rationality functioning to arrive at an objective', Foucault. In the second level the player must think of the actions of the other players in the certain game. What would they do to reach the same goal, which actions will they take. Also important is to think what the other players expect his own actions will be. The player has to anticipate on that to have the advantages over others. The final level is the stage to determine the procedure used in the game or war. The measures that are taken to reach the goal, must overruel the opponent and in the struggle it anticipates to the actions of the other players.

'Strategy is defined by the choice of winning solutions.' (Dreyfus and Rabinow, 1983)

The play in power relations can be described in terms of strategies. In the case of power strategy, the goal of the game is to conduct power or to argue the implement of power. Also in terms of power relations is that human can think of their actions based on actions of others. 'Every power relation implies a strategy of struggle.' The target of the game is a fixing power relation and a strategy of struggle can produce a new power relation. In the case of freedom there are no power relations, because there are nog strategy of struggles. (Dreyfus and Rabinow, 1983)

References:

Dreyfus, H.L., Rabinow, P., Michel Foucault: Beyond Structuralism and Hermeneutics ( The University of Chicago Press, 1983)

Published by Meryl Burger (s0801704)