War of maneuver and war of position: Gramsci and the dialectic of revolution

This chapter examines Antonio Gramsci’s analysis of revolutionary strategy as expressed through his use of the metaphors ‘war of maneuver’ and ‘war of position.’ These strategies - the first of these more concentrated in time and space, the second much less so - are a function of Gramsci’s analysis of the dialectical nature of ruling class power, in particular his analysis of the relationship between the coercive power and hegemonic power of the ruling class. Despite the dialectical foundations of Gramsci’s military metaphor, there has been a tendency to reify this metaphor in such a way that its dialectical character is overlooked or minimized. If we accept the Gramscian argument that a broad, protracted struggle is the most relevant revolutionary strategy within the capitalist core, we can do so only if we explicitly acknowledge how such a strategy must be informed by the strategic concerns of the war of maneuver.