Strategy as Politics is a study of power in a colonial polity during a time of looming and, later, actual world war. It centers on a period (1938-1940) that encompasses the worsening global crisis, the outbreak of the Second World War with its immediate impact on the Caribbean, and military preparations and international actions of the United States in response to unfolding events. The interrelated dynamics of Puerto Rican politics (understood as a distinct sphere of action), US policy-making towards Puerto Rico, and strategic thinking and military policy, formulated within a regiona Caribbean approach, are carefully explored.

The historical juncture includes the downfall of the Blanton Winship governorship, and the brief -but politically dense- succeeding administration of Admiral William D. Leahy (September 1939 to November 1940). A profound transformation of the pattern of Puerto Rican politics occurred and U.S.-Puerto Rico releations were redefined. In many ways this period represents a political watershed.