This article examines the formation of military doctrine by the United States during Vietnam and by Britain during the Boer War to test the prevailing literature on military doctrine. Finding the literature inadequate, The paper offers an institutional model of the forces shaping military doctrine. The institutional model is based on the broader literature concerning the delegation of power in organizations. The logic of the delegated power depends as much on the structure governing the superior (the civilian authorities) as that governing the specialized subordinate (the military organizations). This model proposes that the differences in adaptability demonstrated by British and American military organizations in response to similar threats can be explained by the distinct structure of civilian institutions and their effect on the development of military organizations.

The Institutional Sources of Military Doctrine: Hegemons in Peripheral Wars

: As the Army prepares the new FM 100-5 this monograph analyzes chapter two of the current draft, the theory of operational art. The latest draft FM 100-5 has failed to create a common understanding, and therefore cannot serve as doctrine. There are several reasons for this. First, the draft doctrine does not capture successfully the timeless elements of operational art. Second, by not identifying the timeless elements, the human dimension of applying operational art is not emphasized to the degree necessary. Third, any doctrine explaining operational art must focus on applying the concepts to the present day operations that the Army is being tasked to plan and conduct. Finally, regardless of the impact technology will have on the Army, the methodology for creative conduct of military operations must never be forgotten. Operational art will always drive tactical actions. The focus of doctrine must be on how to apply operational art to practical activities. The concepts must transcend immediate technological conditions lest they be invalidated by rapidly changing capabilities during the life of the manual.

What is Operational Art

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The Politics of United States Army Doctrine

Since 1949, China has adopted nine national military strategies, known as “strategic guidelines.” The strategies adopted in 1956, 1980, and 1993 represent major changes in China's military strategy...

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Shifts in Warfare and Party Unity: Explaining China's Changes in Military Strategy

: While maneuver is the key to victory, it is maneuver of the units of firepower and not of masses of cannon fodder We must learn to depend for success, not on the physical weight of the infantry attack, but on skillful offensive used in combination of all available weapons, based on the principle of maneuver

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Thomas E. Griess

Papers

Definitions and Doctrine of the Military Art: Past and Present