Total Strategy in the 21st Century: Beaufré, Hybrid Warfare, Autocratic Challenges, and the Peruvian Imperative

Abstract

Abstract: This article examines the contemporary relevance of André Beaufré’s strategic thought -particularly his concept of indirect strategy and total strategy- as an analytical framework for understanding hybrid warfare, gray-zone competition, and modern forms of conflict conducted below the threshold of declared war. Through a theoretical-conceptual analysis, the study traces the evolution from classical strategy centered on decisive battle to multidimensional confrontation combining military, economic, technological, informational, and legal instruments. Building upon Beaufré’s dialectic of wills, the article integrates contemporary scholarship on unrestricted warfare, economic coercion, influence operations, and transnational criminal convergence. It argues that indirect strategy remains a foundational concept for interpreting how state and non-state actors seek to erode institutional cohesion, shape political processes, and alter regional balances without triggering conventional war. The study further applies this framework to the Peruvian context, contending that national security must be understood as inseparable from general welfare within a comprehensive conception of total strategy aligned with the Acuerdo Nacional and Peru’s National Strategic Development Plan to 2050. It concludes that effective responses to hybrid threats require not only military capabilities but also institutional resilience, multisectoral coordination, and long-term strategic vision.