Week1JournalEntry

KendrickWang

TheverynatureoftheRevolutioninMilitaryAffairs(RMA)isdifficulttodeduce.
HistoriansoffercompetingviewsonwhatanRMAis,anditseffectstheseviewsareasvaried
intheirmeritasthebattlesandtechnologytheydiscuss.Fromthelecturematerialonly,one
canconcludethatanRMA,initsmostbasicsense,isadrasticchangeinthemannerand
resultsofwarfare,broughtaboutbytheeffectiveuseofmilitaryinnovations.TodefineanRMA
inthesetermsonlyistoleaveitrathervagueonemustlooktoothersourcestogainabetter
vantagepointontheelusiveconcept.
Intheintroductiontohisbook,
WarMadeNew1
,MaxBootstatesthat,althoughchange
takesplaceinincrements,changeisnotevenlydistributedacrossspaceandtime.According
tohim,eventsthattakeplacewithinspatialandhistoricalproximitytoeachothercancluster
togethertoproduceanRMA.Heassertsthat,scholarsmayquibbleaboutexactlyhowmany
revolutionsoccurred,butthattheydoexist,andhavehappened.OnethingofnoteitBoots
specificcautioningagainstafocusonthetoolsofwarfareonly,theScyllaofovervaluing
technologyandtheCharybdisofundervaluingit.Technologymerelysetsthestageforan
RMA,itdoesnotprecipitateit.Armiesmusttakeembracetheinnovationinorderforittobea
fundamentalchangeinthenatureofwarfare.
MichaelJ.Thompson,inhispaper,MilitaryRevolutionsandRevolutionsinMilitary
Affairs,2 agreeswithBootstwofoldinterpretationoftheRMA.HewritesAnRMAcanbe
definedasamajorchangeinthenatureofwarfarebroughtaboutbyadvancesinmilitary
technology,which,combinedwithdramaticchangesinmilitarydoctrineandorganizational
concepts,fundamentallyalterthecharacterandconductofmilitaryoperations.However,
ThompsongoesontoaddthattherearesocietalimplicationsbroughtaboutbytheRMAfor
example,thesizeofearly17thcenturymusketeerarmiesledtoanincreaseinthepowerofthe
unifiedstate,allowingformorefocusedwarfare.
Finally,WilliamsonMurray,inhispaperThinkingAboutRevolutionsinMilitaryAffairs,3
offershisowninterpretation,thatonemightcomparethem[militaryrevolutions]ingeological
termstoearthquakes.Affectingall,largelyuncontrollable,unpredictable,andaboveall
unforeseeable.Militaryrevolutions,fromMurrayspointofview,arefluidthings,not
supplantingbutratheroverlayingeachother,andstemmingfromsociopoliticalcausesas
muchastechnology.Murray,asdocumentedbyThompsoninhisownpaper4,isaproponentof
arevolutioninrevolutionmodel,inwhichlargerMilitaryRevolutionsaresupportedandcause

Boot,Max.
WarMadeNew:Weapons,Warriors,andtheMakingoftheModernWorld
.NewYork:
Gotham,2007.Print.
2
Thompson,MichaelJ.
MilitaryRevolutionsandRevolutionsinMilitaryAffairs:AccurateDescriptionsof
ChangeorIntellectualConstructs?
.N.d.AcademicPaper.
3
Murray,Williamson."ThinkingAboutRevolutionsinMilitaryAffairs."
JointForceQuarterly
(Summer1997):
6976.Web.

4
Seepage95,
MilitaryRevolutionsandRevolutionsinMilitaryAffairs
1

RMAs.Continuingwithhisgeologicalanalogy,Murraycomparesthemtopreandaftershocks.
Theyareseparatebutapartofalargerpiece.
WhileeachoftheseinterpretationsoftheRMAhavecommonthemes,theydifferonkey
pointsThompsonarguesthatarapidseriesofinnovationsclusteredtogetherproducean
RMA,whileMurrayseemstosaythatsocialcausesareasvalid,ifnot,moreimportantthan
technologicalinnovations,stemmingfromhischart5.Thompsonseemstoleantowardthe
thoughtthatRMAsonlycomefromthereactiontotechnology,notthetechnologyitself.Inhis
paper6 ,ThompsonstatesthattheincrediblylopsidedvictoryoftheGulfWarwasnotduetothe
mightandtechnologicalsuperiorityoftheCoalitionforces,butrather,theiradeptnessatusing
thattechnology,combinedwiththeincompetenceoftheIraqiarmy.
Despitetheapparentdiscordbetweenthesescholars,asimilarityshinesthrough:an
RMAisadrasticchangebroughtaboutnotonlybytechnology,butthewayitisused.Their
respectivedefinitionsdiffersolelyinsemantics,andtheconditionstowhichtheRMAapplies.
Observingthis,Thompsonwritesthatcertainaspectsofthedebatearenotmutuallyexclusive,
butarecompatible,andcombineindifferentways7.Reconciliationoftheopposingviewsdoes
not
need
tohappenwhileitcanhappen,eachviewhasitsmeritswhenappliedtotheright
context.
NowthatonehasabetterdefinitionofanRMA,onemayaskthequestion,what
separatesanewweaponorinnovationfromaparadigmshift?Toanswerthat,oneneedonly
lookatthecommondefinitionsharedbythescholars:thatanRMAisachangeintheway
warfareisfought,resultingfromtheeffectiveuseofnewtechnologyinbattle.Technology
alone,asstatedbyallofourauthors,doesnotmeanthatanRMAistakingplace.Eventhe
mostpowerfulweaponseverdeveloped,nuclearbombs,donothavetheirownchapterin
Bootsbook.Hestates,thebombsimpactontheoperationlevelofwarwasclosetonil8.
Whiletheycertainlychangedinternationalpoliticsandbroughtsomewarstoanearlyend,wars
todayarenotfoughtwithnucleartippedartilleryshells,astheUnitedStatesthoughtitmight
need.Therehasnotyetbeenanuclearwar,anduntilthathappens,warsarestillfought
conventionally,orasclosetothetermaswethinkweare.However,letslookatacounter
example:thedevelopmentofairpowerinthefirstWorldWar.Aircrafthadbeforebeenusedin
warfare,butonlychangedthenatureofwarfareoncetheywerefullyexploitedbybothsidesas
weapons,withbombersandfightersaddingathirddimensiontowarfare.Eventothisday,one
ofthefirstactionstakenbymodernmilitariesistosecureairsuperiorityovertheareaof
operations.TodifferentiateanadvancementinhardwareortacticsfromatrueRMA,theremust
bearealchangeinthewaywarsarefoughtontheoperationallevel.

Seepage70,"ThinkingAboutRevolutionsinMilitaryAffairs."
Seepages8687,
MilitaryRevolutionsandRevolutionsinMilitaryAffairs
7
Seepage99,
MilitaryRevolutionsandRevolutionsinMilitaryAffairs
8
Seepage12,
WarMadeNew
6