The Dynamics of Military Revolution, 1300}}}2050 [Hardcover]

This book studies the changes that have marked war in the Western World since the thirteenth century.The Dynamics of Military Revolution suggests that there have been two very different phenomena at work over the past centuries: 'military revolutions', which are driven by vast social and poltical changes; and 'revolutions in military affairs,' which military institutions have directed. By providing both a conceptual framework and a historical context for thinking about revolutionary changes in military affairs, the work establishes a baseline for understanding the patterns of change, innovation, and adaptation that have marked war in the Western world since the thirteenth century.The Dynamics of Military Revolution suggests that there have been two very different phenomena at work over the past centuries: 'military revolutions', which are driven by vast social and poltical changes; and 'revolutions in military affairs,' which military institutions have directed. By providing both a conceptual framework and a historical context for thinking about revolutionary changes in military affairs, the work establishes a baseline for understanding the patterns of change, innovation, and adaptation that have marked war in the Western world since the thirteenth century.The Dynamics of Military Revolution bridges a major gap in the emerging literature on revolutions in military affairs. It suggests that two very different phenomena have been at work over the past centuries: military revolutions, which are driven by vast social and political changes, and revolutions in military affairs, which military institutions have directed, although usually with great difficulty and ambiguous results. MacGregor Knox and Williamson Murray provide a conceptual framework and historical context for understanding the patterns of change, innovation, and adaptation that have marked war in the Western world since the fourteenth century--beginning with Edward III's revolution in medieval warfare, l³¹