Military Doctrine Research Articles

Explaining civilian control of militarisation in Indonesia: The case of military law amendment

This study explores the civilian control of militarisation practice in Indonesia, which refers to the discursive politics involving citizenry in the legitimisation mechanism of the use of military force for defence and non-defence objectives. To explore the empirical manifestation of the concept, the study applies the discourse network analysis method, which combines qualitative content analysis and social network analysis to investigate the public debates over the military law amendment. Accordingly, the study collected a dataset of 227 statements from 55 actors in 118 news articles on the military law amendment from May to July 2023. The analysis reveals that, first, the discourse was dominated by actors from non-governmental organisations, think tanks, and academia. Second, the discourse was driven by several main concerns, such as the return of military dual-function doctrine, the current state of military personnel occupying civilian posts, and the urgency of public participation in the deliberation process of the amendment. This article argues that the configuration of the dominant actors and the prominent issues reflect the prevalence of inward-looking defence policy orientation issue in Indonesia.

National, Bilateral and Multinational: The Development of Royal Navy Tactical Doctrine in the Cold War

This article for the first time explains the development of Royal Navy tactical doctrine during the Cold War, explaining that bilateral and multilateral work alongside solely national effort was vital for the success of both British and NATO doctrine. In doing so it provides a hitherto unexplored aspect of NATO history and gives insights into Royal Navy culture and the development of military doctrine more widely.

Thunder Alone Does Not Defeat an Enemy: An Analysis of Airpower in Vietnam

Operation Rolling Thunder is among the most well-known aerial operations in the Vietnam War, if not all of military history. However, that recognition originates more from infamy than achievement. The massive employment of ordinances, manpower, capital and military logistics did not yield the results desired by the American top brass, instead, the war in Vietnam only intensified with mounting American casualties and growing anti-war sentiments. To be concise, it was a failure. This paper aims to analyze 1) how Operation Rolling Thunder was executed, 2) why it was conducted that way, and 3) what therein should be blamed for the disastrous results mentioned earlier. The objective of the paper is to provide relevant suggestions for the use of airpower based on the experiences of Operation Rolling Thunder. This paper dissects Operation Rolling Thunder by its context, execution, and efficacy to demonstrate the usefulness air power had in the war. The operation was poorly planned and done in almost all major aspects, and the results were similarly poor. Airpower failed to be an effective political tool in this case as it failed to bring the North Vietnamese government to the negotiating table. The research employs a qualitative historical analysis, drawing from established military doctrines, primary sources such as U.S. governmental documents, and secondary scholarly discussions. Findings indicate that the gradual escalation strategy, political mismanagement, and lack of coordination with ground forces were key factors contributing to the operation's failure. The study concludes by offering recommendations for the effective use of airpower in modern military campaigns, demonstrating that airpower must be deployed in concert with other military assets to achieve political objectives.

The Evolution of Aerial Threats and Their Implications on Army Operations

Abstract The increasing evolution of aerial threats presents an ever-growing challenge for force protection. The accelerated development of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and long-range precision strikes highlights the urgency of developing comprehensive air defense doctrines. This paper explores the nature of these threats and their implications, particularly in the Ukrainian theater of operations, where emerging threats from UAS, artillery, and combined arms tactics are increasingly being used to overwhelm the maneuver of military forces and assets. By leveraging historical data, threat analyses, and military doctrines, this article aims to highlight how armed forces can be better prepared to counter these threats, focusing on leadership, training, and the integration of technologies such as short-range air defense for maneuver (M-SHORAD). The joint nature of military actions will need to manifest as swiftly as possible, not only at the strategic and operational levels but starting with small group, crew-aircraft combinations.

Implementation of Revolution in Military Affairs in the Russian and Ukrainian Wars

This research examines the implementation of the Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA) concept in the Russian-Ukrainian War, focusing on its impact on military strategies and operational tactics. RMA involves transformative changes in military technology, doctrine, and organization, reshaping modern warfare. In this conflict, elements such as drone technology, cyber warfare, and network-based weapon systems have been pivotal. Using a descriptive analysis method, the study collected data from military reports, journal articles, and news sources to identify how RMA was applied by both sides and evaluate the influence of modern technology on the conflict's outcomes. The analysis focused on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), electronic warfare systems, and network-based defenses, which intensified the complexity and pace of operations. The findings reveal that both Russia and Ukraine adopted RMA elements, albeit with varying capabilities and effectiveness.

Pendulum swings rather than paradigm shifts: Southeast Asia’s securitisations and the global war on terror

Abstract Two decades into the ‘war on terror’, attention is rapidly shifting away from terrorism. Increasing geopolitical competition between the US and China and Russia’s war in Ukraine prompted talk about a watershed moment in global politics marked by a return of great power competition. To what extent has this paradigm shift – from terrorism to ‘traditional’ considerations of military security from external invasion – taken place in Southeast Asia? Building on securitisation theory, this article argues that the war on terror did not mark a universal historical-political period as it is often presented. In Southeast Asia, so-called non-traditional threats such as terrorism have concerned states since their independence. Therefore, Southeast Asia continued to prioritise ‘traditional’ security threats alongside ‘non-traditional’ ones in what is commonly described as its comprehensive approach to security. Consequently, when the ‘return to geopolitics’ began influencing military doctrine and preparation amongst NATO countries, a similar shift was absent in Southeast Asia. We argue that the region has seen varied emphases on non-traditional versus traditional security threats but did not experience the paradigm shift suggested by the US-dominated security narrative. Southeast Asia’s comprehensive security constellation underscores the need for a more pluralistic and eclectic approach to the study of international relations.

THE FIFTH WAR GENERATION AND ITS GEOSTRATEGIC IMPLICATIONS ON THE BLACK SEA SECURITY DIMENSION: NEW TRENDS, NEW TENDENCIES

Abstract: paper considers and reflects new dimensions of New Cold War geostrategic balance implications at pan-regional (European) and regional (Black Sea) levels. Currently adopted new challenges in the military doctrine of the Russian Federation envisages engagement into two military conflicts simultaneously and constructed its strategic operational framework founded on incorporation of three combat elements: military, non-military and information warfare measures and proper concepts. Hence, it means that Russia can begin war-game scenarios at the same time against two neighboring nations as it occurs at time being against Ukraine and Georgia. A transformation of war strategy and geostrategic culture (it is a new jargon affiliated with cardinal shifting of strategic operational planning in wargame scenarios at global and regional levels). Hence, the process of geostrategic culture transformation occurring currently whilst introducing Fifth War Generation concept replacing the previous one due to the high technical achievements and technological introduction into the neo-modernist war dynamics itself. Generally to say, a fifth generation warfare is an attempt to accomplish strategic objectives through the use of propaganda and information attack vectors. It's carried out by unknown actors for unknown reasons. Even if the core enemy is identified, the victim nation will not be able to understand the purpose or end goal. The goal of the paper is to realize how the geostrategic cultural transformation takes place at regional level and reflection on what type of influence high-level technologies effect on war process itself.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps: Defining Iran’s Military Doctrine

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps: Defining Iran’s Military Doctrine

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Lauro Sodré Neto's article discusses the tension between military doctrine and combat conduct, particularly in rapidly changing contexts like World War II. The author argues that while doctrines are essential for ensuring uniformity and discipline, they can become obsolete in the face of new circumstances, necessitating a break from "Ceteris Paribus." In this critical moment, it is essential to adopt a combat conduct that adapts to new realities, recognizing that hyperactivity can lead to chaos. The text concludes that both doctrine and conduct are necessary, and history teaches that flexibility and courage are fundamental for effectiveness in crisis situations.

Proposta de Programa de Desenvolvimento de Aeronaves Não Tripuladas

The article discusses the increasing importance of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in modern warfare, highlighting how nations investing in this technology have gained significant military advantages. The development of UAVs in Brazil is addressed, focusing on the need to create national capabilities in critical technologies such as control systems, sensors, and turbines. The text proposes a development program aimed at integrating human and financial resources, as well as partnerships with private companies and military institutions. It is expected that, in the medium term, Brazil will be able to develop UAVs with various applications, including tactical reconnaissance and civil missions. The implementation of these technologies will require a revision of military doctrines, allowing armed forces to operate more autonomously and effectively.

The Use of History in American Military Doctrine

Abstract American military forces have been working on a major doctrinal change since the middle of the last decade to move away from counterinsurgency and toward large-scale conventional warfare. The introduction of the concept of Multi-Dimensional Operations (MDO) to fight peer competitors has been accompanied by extensive historical studies of previous conventional campaigns. This article looks at the lessons learned from one of the main recent collections of historical cases, the Army’s Large-Scale Combat Operations (LSCO) Series. The book series contains a large number of cases of major conventional war from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, and demonstrates a clear break with doctrine and historical interpretation developed in Iraq and in Afghanistan. Two sets of historical cases from the LSCO series were chosen for this study, the analyses of the October 1973 War and of the Soviet experience in World War II. These were also two of the main cases that were used in the 1970s and 1980s to help develop AirLand Battle doctrine after Vietnam. The article examines the lessons learned from both of the cases in the LSCO Series and compares those to earlier lessons learned about the same cases in the 1970s and 1980s. In this way, it also finds that the U.S. Army believes that AirLand Battle doctrine continues to be relevant today from a historical standpoint of lessons learned.

Fighting Smart: Living Systems Theory in the US Army's Strategic Thought

This article analyzes the relationship between living systems theory (LST) and the army's military doctrine in the 1980s. General Donn Starry, Colonel Mike Malone, and Major James Cary worked with James G. Miller, the founder of LST, to make the army more efficient at fighting a Soviet invasion of Western Europe. LST conceptualized that living organisms organized matter and energy and that its components could function because they worked as a part of the whole to adapt to their environment. The article reveals how these officers employed LST as a framework to model a reciprocal relationship between individual agency and collective unity in the army's hierarchical organization. Situating this doctrinal reform in the years after the end of the draft and the mainstreaming of neoclassical economics in the 1980s, it finds that the army officers were using LST to replace Robert McNamara's mechanical strategic paradigm used in the Vietnam War.

Victims of the NKVD Katyn Operation from among Lithuanians and Residents of the Former Wilna Province of the Second Polish Republic

The German Treaty of Non-Aggression of 23 August 1939, signed in Moscow by Joachim von Ribbentrop and Vyacheslav Molotov, defined the spheres of influence of the contracting parties and effectively signalled the beginning of World War II. At the same time, the Pact initiated the tragedy of millions of Central and Eastern Europeans, including the people of Lithuania and Poland. The Soviet government wanted to eradicate those who did not fit the Soviet model, so they were deported en masse and exterminated in Soviet-occupied Poland and Lithuania. One of the greatest symbols of such crimes is Katyn massacre. The fate of these people was determined by the Soviet military imperialist doctrine.

America Has Fallen: Critical Race Theory & Low-Intensity Conflict

This article aims to enlighten the business community on socio-political theory, specifically Critical Theory (CT) and Critical Race Theory (CRT), which evolved from Marxist principles. While CT focuses on economics, CRT applies a Marxist lens to race, gender, and intersectionality. The research discussion transitions from theory to application of Low Intensity Conflict (LIC) as defined by U.S. military doctrine. LIC Phase 1 involves organizing, educating, and infiltrating government; Phase 2 includes initiating low level violence and propaganda, expanding to insurrection and guerrilla attacks, and consolidating power through increased attacks and political activities. With Phases 1 and 2 completed, Phase 3 was initiated with an attempted assassination of former President Trump, and is exacerbated by unchecked immigration of military-aged men and fentanyl proliferation. This study advocates for counter-insurgency measures and emphasizes the urgent need for politicians to uphold their constitutional oaths and safeguard the nation.

Leadership Styles and Effectiveness of Female Officers in the US Military: A Historical Perspective and Recent Developments

Aims: This study aims to provide a concise historical perspective and summarize recent developments in leadership styles and effectiveness of female officers in the US military. The review focuses on the evolving roles of women in military leadership, the predominant leadership styles employed, and their effectiveness in the contemporary military context. Study Design: A narrative study of peer-reviewed articles and official military reports published primarily within the last decade (2013-2023). Methodology: A comprehensive literature search was conducted using military and leadership databases, including JSTOR, Military & Government Collection, and Leadership Studies. The review prioritized empirical studies, policy analyses, and authoritative reviews published in reputable journals and official military publications. Results: The study reveals a significant increase in leadership opportunities for female officers over the past decade. Transformational and adaptive leadership styles are predominant among female officers. They have demonstrated effectiveness in team cohesion, crisis management, conflict resolution, and mentorship. In some areas, such as strategic thinking and innovative problem-solving, female officers show comparable or superior performance to their male counterparts. However, challenges related to gender stereotypes and work-life balance persist. Conclusion: While substantial progress has been made in integrating women into military leadership roles, continued efforts are needed to address remaining barriers. The unique contributions of female officers to military leadership, particularly in areas of team cohesion and adaptive problem-solving, warrant further research and recognition in military doctrine and training programs.

War on the pandemic: European armed forces and the impact of COVID-19 deployments on military readiness

ABSTRACT Examining the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on armed forces development, this article compares and contrasts the employment of six European armed forces in their efforts to provide emergency assistance to their respective governments between the first wave of COVID-19 infections from February 2020 and the fifth wave during the winter of 2021-2022. We present a comparative analysis and classification of the tasks undertaken by French, Austrian, Italian, British, German, and Swiss soldiers in health, logistics, and security. We find that a pandemic did not figure prominently in codified security policy and military doctrine before 2020. Additionally, we illustrate that the armed forces were used as a flexible go-to resource while containing COVID-19. Their employment meant a decrease in operational readiness leading to a withdrawal of soldiers in ongoing operations as well as the cancellation of exercises.

Application of Strategic Management Through Military Leadership

The Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) unit has specific duties as mandated by Law No. 34 of 2004. Soldiers are expected to adhere to values derived from the nation's military doctrine, encapsulated in the Sapta Marga, the Soldier's Oath, and the 8 Obligations of the Indonesian National Armed Forces. Essential qualities for soldiers include loyalty to superiors, decisiveness, discipline, and responsibility towards their duties. The Indonesian National Armed Forces organizational structure is permanent and non-profit, which limits social interactions among soldiers, particularly those from different units or ranks. There are no specific guidelines for leadership styles at different rank levels, leading leaders to rely on the organizational culture established during military training. According to Wawan (2020), leadership in the military, underpinned by organizational culture values, motivates soldiers to improve their performance. Leaders play a critical role in applying organizational culture by making decisions based on Indonesian National Armed Forces doctrines. The responsibilities of officers within the Indonesian Army (TNI AD) evolve with their rank. Career development is determined by rank following the completion of general development education (Dikbangum), which involves rigorous selection processes evaluating various aspects supporting the required skills and competencies for higher ranks. Proportional stratified random sampling was used among officer students in Dikbangum for Secapa, Selapa, Sesko Indonesian National Armed Forces, and Seskoad. The study included 640 respondents: 111 from Secapa, 278 from Selapa, 190 from Seskoad, and 61 from Sesko Indonesian National Armed Forces. Research findings indicate that leadership positively affects soldier performance through organizational culture and work motivation within the Indonesian National Army. However, data from the overall sample revealed a negative impact of work motivation on soldier performance, both directly and through leadership roles incorporating work motivation elements. This negative effect is attributed to age, rank, job responsibility, and unit type differences among the research subjects in each cluster group. The study on officer students undergoing general development education in 2023 within the Indonesian National Army shows that leadership directly influences soldier performance, positively affects work motivation, and impacts organizational culture. Leadership also affects performance through work motivation and organizational culture. Leadership approaches at different rank levels have positively influenced soldiers' responses, enabling them to perform their duties effectively in accordance with directives from higher units, such as MABES Indonesian National Armed Forces.

Sustaining (organizational) identity in times of change? Ontological security and narrative in Swedish military doctrine

ABSTRACT Two of the central and enduring debates in scholarship on military doctrine concern its sources and purposes. While the dispute on sources is marked by a differentiation mainly between rationalist and constructivist understandings of external threats versus (strategic) culture, the discussion about purposes largely has remained confined to the rationalist side only, with debates focusing on doctrine’s relative importance to military efficiency and effectiveness. In contrast, this article contributes to and further develops constructivist-inspired understandings of military doctrine as being about creating/sustaining identity and ontological security. By bringing scholarship on military identity into conversation with constructivist/critical research on organizational identity (OI), military doctrine is read as an authoritative top-down narrative aimed at constituting OI by providing ontological security. This is of particular salience in times of change when the central purposes and goals of an organization, such as the military, are affected by major developments in the organization itself, domestic politics, the international environment, or society. The theoretical propositions are illustrated by an exemplary empirical analysis of contemporary Swedish military doctrine from 2002 to 2022.

Об использовании летательных аппаратов легче воздуха в военных целях

The article talks about innovative measures to increase the combat power of the Russian Armed Forces, arising from the provisions of the Military Doctrine of the Russian Federation. Against the background of a historical retrospective, the main directions of combat use of airships and balloons are revealed. The efficiency and reliability of this transport platform are shown. The article analyzes the options for its use as an “aviamatka” for UAVs, a platform for the deployment of missile and anti-missile weapons, long-range radar reconnaissance and control, as well as electronic warfare. The possibility of using these devices for the protection and protection of the state and customs borders is noted.

Recent U.S. Government and Military Space Strategy and Doctrine

Recent U.S. Government and Military Space Strategy and Doctrine