The strategy of presence under the strategy concept and its roots in the Army's imaginary

Abstract

The strategy of presence is often talked about, but it has been the subject of very few studies. This paper intends to contribute in this direction by establishing the historical background of presence, followed by the presentation of the various definitions of strategy and the analysis of the notion of presence as a strategy according to such concepts, in order to validate or not its elevation to the condition of strategy per se. A conjectural approach follows due to the fact that the subject is impregnated in the imaginary of Army officers and, therefore, is marked by a significant degree of subjectivity. The methodology applied was simple: a historical analysis, to raise and understand the past facts related to the subject and its importance, followed by a conceptual analysis, to find out the coherence of the presence strategy with the strategy concept. A conclusion incites those responsible for strategic thinking to give preference to logic over the illusory aspects of the imaginary.