The Resort to Force: Military Operations and the Future of War

'Strategy' has many modern definitions and uses, from national defence and foreign policy to the business world, but its ancient Greek origins (strategia) allude to the art of the military leader, or general, in war. This course echoes this ancient and enduring conception to analyse the use of military force as an instrument of strategy. Its aim is to impart an understanding of the fundamentals of the employment of armed force to contribute to the consideration of the practicalities of formulating and enacting strategy. The course will examine the pitfalls and risks of military endeavour, the possible benefits, and what military forces can and cannot do. The course begins by exploring the classic operational domains: land, sea and air and the characteristics and capabilities of land, sea and air power. Having laid these foundations, it will progress to consider how activities in each domain have been unified into combined, joint, or even integrated, approaches to warfighting. Alert to the conflict and strategic instability of the contemporary world, and the rapid innovations in military technology accompanying it, the course will also critically examine emerging ideas and approaches to warfighting. This will include consideration of new warfighting domains such as cyber, space and information. A number of common themes will underpin the course: the character versus the nature of war; the interplay between technological innovation and warfighting theories and doctrines; the relationship between strategy, operations and tactics; the effect of the natural and manmade environment in shaping military operations; the act of command and the systems enabling it; and the congruity, or incongruity, between military and political objectives. Of interest to those seeking better understanding of force as an implement of national policy or the longitudinal development of military theory and practice, the course is particularly appropriate for students considering government service or other positions involving national and international security matters.