Introduction. Envisioning Future Wars

Abstract

This introductory paper begins by briefly surveying the history of military thought, focusing on the introduction of change as an immutable element in the character of war – from the Clausewitzian emphasis on the social and the political to the later emphasis on technology. The idea of the transformation of war’s nature was the basis of all modern era efforts of imagining and preparing for future war. In other words, throughout the history of warfare, generals had done well preparing for the last war and learning the eternal laws of their profession, but now this was seen as a handicap rather than an advantage. Next the introduction will examine the theoretical foundations of thinking about future war and its importance to theories of military change and innovation, and continues by reviewing the historiography on war planning in the past.