The purpose of this study is to develop a pretheoretical framework based on several organizing principles to determine what it means for the state to achieve victory in war. This pretheory is not designed for predictive purposes, to forecast whether victory will occur under specific conditions or when to go to war. That said, this chapter discusses what constitutes a pretheory of victory and to what practical and conceptual uses it can be put. It begins with an examination of the language of victory, to define as precisely as possible the origins of the word “victory.” It then explores what a theory is and should accomplish, and proceeds to define what it means to have a pretheory of victory, to explain what such ideas contribute to understanding victory, and to outline the components of a pretheory. Subsequent chapters apply this pretheory of victory to various wars fought by the United States, including six wars from the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.

LANGUAGE OF VICTORY

This chapter begins with a systematic search for a definition of “victory.” Although the word is routinely used to describe the successful outcome of political, social, and economic events, this study focuses on cases that pertain directly to the realm of military strategy. As this review of the various meanings of “victory” in the context of strategy shows, its principal attribute is that it is associated with a wide range of outcomes of military actions and wars.