Military theory is the analysis of

normative Normative generally means relating to an evaluative standard. Normativity is the phenomenon in human societies of designating some actions or outcomes as good or desirable or permissible and others as bad or undesirable or impermissible. A Norm (p ...

behavior and trends in military affairs and

military history Military history is a humanities Humanities are List of academic disciplines, academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture. In the Renaissance, the term contrasted with Divinity (academic discipline), divinity and r ...

, beyond simply describing events in

war War is an intense armed conflict between states State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * The State (newspaper), ''The State'' (new ...

war

. Theories and conceptions of warfare have varied in different places throughout human history. The Chinese

Sun Tzu Sun Tzu ( ; zh, t=孫子, p=Sūnzǐ) was a Chinese general, military strategist A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically officially a ...

is recognized by scholars to be one of the earliest military theorists.For more on scholars valuation of ''The Art of War'', see the Wikipedia article

The Art of War ''The Art of War'' () is an ancient List of Chinese military texts, Chinese military treatise dating from the Late Spring and Autumn Period (roughly 5th century BC). The work, which is attributed to the ancient Chinese military strategist Su ...

His now-iconic ''

Art of War ''The Art of War'' is an ancient Chinese military treatise dating from the Late Spring and Autumn Period The Spring and Autumn period was a period in Chinese history The earliest known written records of the history of China date f ...

'' laid the foundations for operational planning,

tactics Tactic(s) or Tactical may refer to: * Tactic (method), a conceptual action implemented as one or more specific tasks ** Military tactics, the disposition and maneuver of units on a particular sea or battlefield ** Chess tactics ** Political tactic ...

strategy Strategy (from Greek#REDIRECT Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece Greece ( el, Ελλάδα, , ), officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country located in Southeast Europe. Its population is approxim ...

and

logistics Logistics is generally the detailed organization and implementation of a complex operation. In a general business sense, logistics is the management of the flow of things between the point of origin and the point of consumption to meet the requ ...

. Military theories, especially since the influence of

Clausewitz Carl Philipp Gottfried (or Gottlieb) von Clausewitz (; – ) was a Prussian general and military theorist who stressed the "moral" (meaning, in modern terms, psychological Psychology is the science of mind and behavior. Psychology incl ...

in the nineteenth century, attempt to encapsulate the complex cultural, political and economic relationships between societies and the conflicts they create. These military theories can encompass tactics like

divide and rule Divide and rule policy ( la, divide et impera), or divide and conquer, in politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations between individuals ...

, starving out defenders, etc.

References

Notes Bibliography * *

External links

Theory A theory is a rational Rationality is the quality or state of being rational – that is, being based on or agreeable to reason Reason is the capacity of consciously making sense of things, applying logic Logic (from Ancient Greek, G ...

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See also

References

External links