Clausewitz on Space War; An Essay on the Strategic Aspects of Military Operations in Space.
Abstract
This paper is meant to be suggestive of issues that strategic planners might consider as they look ahead to the possibility of military space operations in the twenty-first century. It uses as its analytical framework Carl von Clausewitz's concept of war which holds that military operations are dominated by intangible human factors and therefore are largely unpredictable. The paper begins with a discussion of how the views of Clausewitz are confirmed in the writings of some leading modern military analysts and in the mathematical concept of chaos. It then projects Clausewitz's concept of war onto future military space operations by examining US's civilian space activities for evidence that intangible factors like luck, friction, danger, and genius have influenced these activities and are, therefore, likely to affect military operations in space. One of the paper's main points is that the US has a national genius for high technology space operations. This genius springs from the US culture with its emphasis on science fiction, computers, and video games just as the dominant power of English arms in the fourteenth century derived from the fact that the longbow was a favored weapon among English yeomanry.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 1992
- Accession Number
- ADA271598
Entities
People
- Donald R. Baucom
Organizations
- Air University