Understanding the Military Design Movement: War, Change and Innovation

This book explores the history and development of military design, featuring case studies from key modern militaries. It explains how modern militaries think and arrange actions in time and space for security affairs and how designers are disrupting, challenging, and reconceptualizing traditional battlefield concepts. It also discusses the tangled origins of commercial design and designing modern warfare, the rise of various design movements, and how todays military forces largely hold to a Newtonian stylization built upon mimicry of natural science infused with earlier medieval and religious inspirations.

Format: Hardback
Length: 342 pages
Publication date: 09 June 2023
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

This comprehensive and insightful book delves into the rich history and evolution of the military design movement, offering a comprehensive exploration of the key modern militaries that have shaped this field. Written by a practitioner with firsthand experience, the work provides a unique perspective on how modern militaries approach security affairs, both in terms of their strategic thinking and their tactical arrangements in time and space.

The book challenges conventional notions of warfare and explores the ways in which designers are disrupting, challenging, and reconceptualizing long-held beliefs on the battlefield. It offers a deep and philosophically grounded understanding of military design, shedding light on its origins, principles, and potential implications for generations of warfighters.

The book traces the tangled origins of commercial design and the development of modern warfare, highlighting the rise of various design movements that have influenced military thinking. It explores how today's military forces largely adhere to a Newtonian stylization, drawing upon natural science, medieval and religious inspirations, and incorporating them into their strategic and tactical approaches.

The book also delves into the question of why our species conceptualizes war in the manner it does and how military institutions erect barriers that hinder further innovation. It examines the theory, doctrine, organizational culture, and key actors involved in these institutions, providing a comprehensive analysis of the challenges and opportunities facing modern defense thinking.

Through case studies from the Israel Defense Force, the US Army, the US Marine Corps, the Canadian Armed Forces, and the Australian Defence Force, the book offers a rare glimpse into the design stories and practices of these military forces. It sheds light on the theory, doctrine, organizational culture, and key actors involved in these organizations, providing a comprehensive understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing modern defense thinking.

Ultimately, this book is a powerful exploration of how small communities of practice are challenging the foundations of modern defense thinking. It offers valuable insights for students of military and strategic studies, defense studies, and security studies, as well as design educators and military professionals. By examining the intersection of design, warfare, and strategic thinking, the book provides a roadmap for reimagining the future of defense and security.

Weight: 648g
Dimension: 162 x 241 x 25 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781032481784