Theory: Tactics Are Not Strategy

Written by Mary on April 2, 2008 – 3:25 pm -

So far I have been writing about the tactics of digital activism without explicitly stating what a “tactic” is. However, a recent e-mail from a DigiActive team member showed me that in fact the definition of what a tactic is - and how it is different from strategy - is not clear. The purpose of this post is to clarify that critical difference between tactics and strategy and how they relate to digital activism.

When explaining the difference between tactics and strategy, I find an analysis of the roots of the two words extremely helpful. Strategy comes from the Greek work “strategos” meaning “general.” Tactic comes from the Greek work “taktikas” meaning “foot soldier”.

As you can see from the image below, the strategy (general) guides the tactics (foot soldiers) within an activist campaign. Tactics are the actions which allow you to achieve your strategic goal.

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