Past Revolutions, Future Transformations. What Can the History of Revolutions in Military Affairs Tell Us about Transforming the U.S. Military?

Past Revolutions, Future Transformations. What Can the History of Revolutions in Military Affairs Tell Us about Transforming the U.S. Military?
Author:
Publisher:
Total Pages: 116
Release: 1999
Genre: Military art and science
ISBN:

As the Gulf War showed, advances in technology can bring about dramatic changes in military operations. Such technology-driven changes in military operations will continue to bestow a military advantage on the first nation to develop and use them. Accordingly, the vitality and robustness of the U.S. defense posture depend on the DoD R & D community being on the leading edge of breakthrough technologies that could revolutionize military operations. Also, the U.S. military services must be on the lookout for revolutionary ways in which to employ those technologies in warfare. LESSONS FROM PAST RMAs The Characteristics of Revolutions in Military Affairs Based on an examination of two historical records-the long history of military technology and the military 'revolutions' in the 20th century-we conclude that the defining characteristic of a revolution in military affairs (RMA) can be stated as follows: which either renders obsolete or irrelevant one or more core competencies of a dominant player, or creates one or more new core competencies, in some new dimension of warfare, or both.

Past Revolutions, Future Transformations

Past Revolutions, Future Transformations
Author: Richard O. Hundley
Publisher:
Total Pages: 99
Release: 1999
Genre: Electronic book
ISBN: 9780833027092

Annotation Advances in technology can bring about dramatic changes in military operations, often termed revolutions in military affairs or RMAs. Such technology-driven changes in military operations are not merely a recent phenomenon: they have been occurring since the dawn of history, they will continue to occur in the future, and they will continue to bestow a military advantage on the first nation to develop and use them. Accordingly, it is important to the continued vitality and robustness of the U.S. defense posture for the DoD R & D community to be aware of technology developments that could revolutionize military operations in the future, and for the U.S. military services to be on the lookout for revolutionary ways in which to employ those technologies in warfare. This report examines the history of past RMAs, to see what can be learned from them regarding the challenge confronting the DoD today, when it has set out on a concerted effort to bring about a technology-driven transformation of the U.S. military to achieve the operational goals outlined in Joint Vision 2010. Among its many findings are three of particular note: RMAs are rarely brought about by dominant players (such as the U.S. military is today). For a dominant player to bring about an RMA requires a receptive organizational climate, fostering a continually refined vision of how war may change in the future and encouraging vigorous debate regarding the future of the organization; senior officers with traditional credentials willing to sponsor new ways of doing things and able to establish new promotion pathways for junior officers practicing a new way of war; mechanisms for experimentation, to discover, learn, test and demonstrate new ideas; and ways of responding positively to the results of successful experiments, in terms of doctrinal changes, acquisition programs, and force structure modifications. The DoD has some of these elements today, but is missing others. The report makes specific suggestions regarding ways of filling in the missing elements. Doing these things will facilitate DoD's force transformation activities and help ensure that the next RMA is brought about by the United States. and not some other nation.

Past Revolutions, Future Transformations. What Can the History of Revolutions in Military Affairs Tell Us about Transforming the U.S. Military?

Past Revolutions, Future Transformations. What Can the History of Revolutions in Military Affairs Tell Us about Transforming the U.S. Military?
Author:
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 1999
Genre:
ISBN:

As the Gulf War showed, advances in technology can bring about dramatic changes in military operations. Such technology-driven changes in military operations will continue to bestow a military advantage on the first nation to develop and use them. Accordingly, the vitality and robustness of the U.S. defense posture depend on the DoD R & D community being on the leading edge of breakthrough technologies that could revolutionize military operations. Also, the U.S. military services must be on the lookout for revolutionary ways in which to employ those technologies in warfare. LESSONS FROM PAST RMAs The Characteristics of Revolutions in Military Affairs Based on an examination of two historical records-the long history of military technology and the military 'revolutions' in the 20th century-we conclude that the defining characteristic of a revolution in military affairs (RMA) can be stated as follows: which either renders obsolete or irrelevant one or more core competencies of a dominant player, or creates one or more new core competencies, in some new dimension of warfare, or both.

The Dynamics of Military Revolution, 1300-2050

The Dynamics of Military Revolution, 1300-2050
Author: MacGregor Knox
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 236
Release: 2001-08-27
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780521800792

This book studies the changes that have marked war in the Western World since the thirteenth century.

Past Revolutions, Future Transformations

Past Revolutions, Future Transformations
Author: Jonell Caley
Publisher: Independently Published
Total Pages: 132
Release: 2021-06-11
Genre:
ISBN:

We continue living in a changing climate that is at risk of our organisms is denied. Such a climate portends a transformation of our culture, our economy, and our politics. It is happening. About that, we have no choice. But we have been given the capacity to imagine and to choose what it will be should we choose to embrace our power. What a frightening, yet exciting, time in which we live. We have many guides past and present to help us on our way if we but listen and engage with them and each other. This book contains their thoughts. It is not the blueprint for the revolution. That will emerge from our thinking and action. But I offer it as a guide especially to the generation we call Millenials who will decide.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution

The Fourth Industrial Revolution
Author: Klaus Schwab
Publisher: Currency
Total Pages: 192
Release: 2017-01-03
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1524758876

World-renowned economist Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, explains that we have an opportunity to shape the fourth industrial revolu­tion, which will fundamentally alter how we live and work. Schwab argues that this revolution is different in scale, scope and complexity from any that have come before. Characterized by a range of new technologies that are fusing the physical, digital and biological worlds, the developments are affecting all disciplines, economies, industries and governments, and even challenging ideas about what it means to be human. Artificial intelligence is already all around us, from supercomputers, drones and virtual assistants to 3D printing, DNA sequencing, smart thermostats, wear­able sensors and microchips smaller than a grain of sand. But this is just the beginning: nanomaterials 200 times stronger than steel and a million times thinner than a strand of hair and the first transplant of a 3D printed liver are already in development. Imagine “smart factories” in which global systems of manu­facturing are coordinated virtually, or implantable mobile phones made of biosynthetic materials. The fourth industrial revolution, says Schwab, is more significant, and its ramifications more profound, than in any prior period of human history. He outlines the key technologies driving this revolution and discusses the major impacts expected on government, business, civil society and individu­als. Schwab also offers bold ideas on how to harness these changes and shape a better future—one in which technology empowers people rather than replaces them; progress serves society rather than disrupts it; and in which innovators respect moral and ethical boundaries rather than cross them. We all have the opportunity to contribute to developing new frame­works that advance progress.

Military Transformation and Strategy

Military Transformation and Strategy
Author: Bernard Loo
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 385
Release: 2008-08-21
Genre: History
ISBN: 1134103425

This book explores the idea of arevolution in military affairs (RMA), which underpins the transformational agenda of the US military, and examines its implications for smaller states.The strategic studies literature on the RMA tends to be American-centric and directed towards the strategic problems of the US military. This volume seeks to fill t

War Made New

War Made New
Author: Max Boot
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 640
Release: 2006-10-19
Genre: History
ISBN: 1101216832

A monumental, groundbreaking work, now in paperback, that shows how technological and strategic revolutions have transformed the battlefield Combining gripping narrative history with wide-ranging analysis, War Made New focuses on four "revolutions" in military affairs and describes how inventions ranging from gunpowder to GPS-guided air strikes have remade the field of battle—and shaped the rise and fall of empires. War Made New begins with the Gunpowder Revolution and explains warfare's evolution from ritualistic, drawn-out engagements to much deadlier events, precipitating the rise of the modern nation-state. He next explores the triumph of steel and steam during the Industrial Revolution, showing how it powered the spread of European colonial empires. Moving into the twentieth century and the Second Industrial Revolution, Boot examines three critical clashes of World War II to illustrate how new technology such as the tank, radio, and airplane ushered in terrifying new forms of warfare and the rise of centralized, and even totalitarian, world powers. Finally, Boot focuses on the Gulf War, the invasion of Afghanistan, and the Iraq War—arguing that even as cutting-edge technologies have made America the greatest military power in world history, advanced communications systems have allowed decentralized, "irregular" forces to become an increasingly significant threat.

Recognizing and Understanding Revolutionary Change in Warfare: The Sovereignty of Context

Recognizing and Understanding Revolutionary Change in Warfare: The Sovereignty of Context
Author: Colin S. Gray
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
Total Pages: 67
Release: 2006
Genre:
ISBN: 1428916210

"Revolution in Military Affairs" (RMA) was the most widely used, and abused, acronym in the U.S. defense community in the 1990s. Subsequently, "transformation" has superceded it as the preferred term of art. For the better part of two decades, American defense professionals have been excited by the prospect of effecting a revolutionary change in the conduct and character of warfare. In this monograph, Dr. Colin S. Gray provides a critical audit of the great RMA debate and of some actual RMA behavior. He argues that the contexts of warfare are crucially important. Indeed so vital are the contexts that only a military transformation that allows for flexibility and adaptability will meet future strategic demands. Dr. Gray warns against a transformation that is highly potent only in a narrow range of strategic cases. In addition, he advises that the historical record demonstrates clearly that every revolutionary change in warfare eventually is more or less neutralized by antidotes of one kind or another (political, strategic, operational, tactical, and technological). He warns that the military effectiveness of a process of revolutionary change in a "way of war" can only be judged by the test of battle, and possibly not even then, if the terms of combat are very heavily weighted in favor of the United States. On balance, the concept of revolutionary change is found to be quite useful, provided it is employed and applied with some reservations and in a manner that allows for flexibility and adaptability. Above all else, the monograph insists, the contexts of warfare, especially the political, determine how effective a transforming military establishment will be.

The Revolutionary City

The Revolutionary City
Author: Mark R. Beissinger
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 592
Release: 2022-04-12
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0691224757

How and why cities have become the predominant sites for revolutionary upheavals in the contemporary world Examining the changing character of revolution around the world, The Revolutionary City focuses on the impact that the concentration of people, power, and wealth in cities exercises on revolutionary processes and outcomes. Once predominantly an urban and armed affair, revolutions in the twentieth century migrated to the countryside, as revolutionaries searched for safety from government repression and discovered the peasantry as a revolutionary force. But at the end of the twentieth century, as urban centers grew, revolution returned to the city—accompanied by a new urban civic repertoire espousing the containment of predatory government and relying on visibility and the power of numbers rather than arms. Using original data on revolutionary episodes since 1900, public opinion surveys, and engaging examples from around the world, Mark Beissinger explores the causes and consequences of the urbanization of revolution in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. Beissinger examines the compact nature of urban revolutions, as well as their rampant information problems and heightened uncertainty. He investigates the struggle for control over public space, why revolutionary contention has grown more pacified over time, and how revolutions involving the rapid assembly of hundreds of thousands in central urban spaces lead to diverse, ad hoc coalitions that have difficulty producing substantive change. The Revolutionary City provides a new understanding of how revolutions happen and what they might look like in the future.