Reassessing the Revolution in Military Affairs Transformation, Evolution and Lessons Learnt

by Collins, Jeffrey; Futter, Andrew

• ISBN13: 9781137513755
• ISBN10: 1137513756
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2015-10-13
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

A generation after the First Persian Gulf War, and in the wake of a decade of counterinsurgency operations and irregular warfare, this edited collection explores how the concept of the Revolution in Military Affairs continues to shape the way militaries think about, plan and fight wars. The contributors grant particular attention to the ways in which advances in military technology, thinking and doctrine – particularly by Western militaries  - were understood and reacted to by a variety of different actors across the globe. Collectively, they consider the implications for the future of warfare as we approach an uncertain geopolitical future.

Author Biography

Jeffrey F. Collins is a Research Associate with the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies, and is also affiliated to Carleton University, both in Canada. His work been has published in Foreign Policy Analysis, Canadian Naval Review, and with SITREP: Journal of the Royal Canadian Military Institute.

Andrew Futter is a Senior Lecturer in International Politics at the University of Leicester, UK. His work focuses mainly on contemporary nuclear weapons issues, including ballistic missile defence, proliferation, the changing nature of deterrence, and new challenges for nuclear forces. He is the author of Ballistic Missile Defence and US National Security Policy (2013) and The Politics of Nuclear Weapons (2015).

Table of Contents

Introduction: reflecting on the global impact of RMA; Jeffrey F. Collins & Andrew Futter
1. The United States and the RMA: Revolutions do Not Revolutionize Everything; Keith L. Shimko
2. A peculiarly British revolution: missing the point or just avoiding change?; Andrew Dorman
3. The perpetual search for efficiency: the Canadian approach to the RMA and military transformation; Jeffrey F. Collins
4. The interruption and evolution of Australia's RMA; Rachel Bryson
5. The Israeli Revolution in Military Affairs and the road to the 2006 Lebanon War; Raphael Marcus
6. A Russian response to the RMA: military strategy towards modern security threats; Andrey Suschentsov
7. RMA and India: nothing revolutionary about it; Harsh Pant and Yogesh Joshi
8. RMA, European militaries and the limits of modernization; David Galbreath
Conclusion: reflecting on the RMA concept; Andrew Futter