Military theory is the study of the theories which define, inform, guide and explain war and

warfare War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of State (polity), states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or betwe ...

. Military theory analyses both

normative Normativity is the phenomenon in human societies of designating some actions or outcomes as good, desirable, or permissible, and others as bad, undesirable, or impermissible. A Norm (philosophy), norm in this sense means a standard for evaluatin ...

behavioral phenomena and explanatory causal aspects to better understand war and how it is fought. It examines war and trends in warfare beyond simply describing events in military history. While military theories may employ the

scientific method The scientific method is an Empirical evidence, empirical method for acquiring knowledge that has been referred to while doing science since at least the 17th century. Historically, it was developed through the centuries from the ancient and ...

, theory differs from

military science Military science is the study of military processes, institutions, and behavior, along with the study of warfare, and the theory and application of organized coercive force. It is mainly focused on theory, method, and practice of producing mi ...

. Theory aims to explain the causes for military victory and produce guidance on how war should be waged and won, rather than developing universal, immutable laws which can bound the physical act of warfare or codifying empirical data, such as weapon effects, platform operating ranges, consumption rates and target information, to aid military planning. Military theory is multi-disciplinary drawing on

social science Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among members within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the ...

and

humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture, including Philosophy, certain fundamental questions asked by humans. During the Renaissance, the term "humanities" referred to the study of classical literature a ...

academic fields through the disciplines of

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

, strategic studies, military studies and

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

. It examines the nature of war, and the conclusions of wars. Military philosophy likewise studies questions such as the reasons to go to war, ''

jus ad bellum ' ( or ), literally "right to war" in Latin, refers to "the conditions under which States may resort to war or to the use of armed force in general". Jus ad bellum is one pillar of just war theory. Just war theory states that war should only be ...

'', and just ways to fight wars, ''

jus in bello The law of war is a component of international law that regulates the conditions for initiating war (''jus ad bellum'') and the conduct of hostilities (''jus in bello''). Laws of war define sovereignty and nationhood, states and territories, ...

.'' Two of the earliest military philosophers date from antiquity;

Thucydides Thucydides ( ; ; BC) was an Classical Athens, Athenian historian and general. His ''History of the Peloponnesian War'' recounts Peloponnesian War, the fifth-century BC war between Sparta and Athens until the year 411 BC. Thucydides has been d ...

and

Sun Tzu Sun Tzu (; zh, t=孫子, s=孙子, first= t, p=Sūnzǐ) may have been a Chinese General, military general, strategist, philosopher, and writer who lived during the Eastern Zhou period (771–256 BC). Sun Tzu is traditionally credited as the au ...

. While military theory can inform

military doctrine Military doctrine is the expression of how military forces contribute to campaigns, major operations, battles, and engagements. A military doctrine outlines what military means should be used, how forces should be structured, where forces shou ...

or help explain

military history Military history is the study of War, armed conflict in the Human history, history of humanity, and its impact on the societies, cultures and economies thereof, as well as the resulting changes to Politics, local and international relationship ...

, it differs from them as it contemplates abstract concepts, themes, principles and ideas to formulate solutions to actual and potential problems concerning war and warfare.

Use of military theory

Prussian military theorist Carl von Clausewitz wrote,

'The primary purpose of any theory is to clarify concepts and ideas that have become, as it were, confused and entangled. Not until terms and concepts have been defined can one hope to make any progress in examining the questions clearly and simply and expect the reader to share one's views.'

Military theory informs the political, strategic, operational and tactical levels of war. It does so by contributing to knowledge on the subjects of war and warfare. This aids in understanding why and when force is used and what forms the use of force may take. It also aids in identifying and explaining practical outcomes to help determine how force may be applied. Military theories can be divided into several categories, such as operational theory and tactical theory. They may also be categorised by environment or domain, such as space power or astronautics.

References

Notes Bibliography * Angstrom, Jan and Widen, J.J. (2015) ''Contemporary Military Theory: The Dynamics of War''. New York: Routledge. * * Evans, Michael, (2004)
''Land Warfare Studies Centre Study Paper No. 305'', ''The Continental School of Strategy: The Past, Present and Future of Land Power''
Canberra: Land Warfare Studies Centre. . * Gray, Colin S. (2010). ''The Strategy Bridge-Theory for Practice''. Oxford: Oxford University Press. * Lider, Julian (1980). 'Introduction to Military Theory', ''Cooperation and Conflict,'' XV, 151–168. * Lider, Julian (1983). ''Military Theory: Concept, Structure and Problems (1st ed.)''. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. * Oliviero, Charles. (2022) ''Strategia – A Primer on Theory and Strategy for Students of War.'' Toronto: Double Dagger. * * Vego, Milan (2011).
On Military Theory
, ''Joint Force Quarterly,'' Vol. 3, Issue 62, pp. 59–67. * Yarger, Harry R. (2006). ''Strategic Theory for the 21st Century: The Little Book on Big Strategy''. Leavenworth: US Army War College War College Press.

External links

* {{Commons category-inline

Theory A theory is a systematic and rational form of abstract thinking about a phenomenon, or the conclusions derived from such thinking. It involves contemplative and logical reasoning, often supported by processes such as observation, experimentation, ...

Use of military theory

See also

References

External links