The Magic Bullet?: Understanding the Revolution in Military Affairs

One of the key debates in current defence policy and strategic studies is whether the world is undergoing a 'Revolution in Military Affairs' (RMA), a complete transformation in warfare. This book explores whether a genuine RMA is truly under way, and if so, what the implications are.
It explores the concept, looking at different ways in which it is understood, and reviews previous historical cases that have been seen as RMAs, including the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, the industrial revolution and the period between the two World Wars. It assesses the 1991 Gulf War and the conclusions that can be drawn from it. The book then studies the current debate about the existence of an RMA and its implications, deriving a number of different perspectives on these issues. These competing viewpoints are used to examine various issues connected with the debate, including the potential impact of the RMA across different types and intensities of conflict, the competing understandings of Information Warfare, asymmetric warfare and the threat it poses around the globe, and the effect of the RMA on the major alliances in the Western world.
Based on a research project written for the UK Ministry of Defence, this book investigates the implications of the RMA for the strategy and defence policy of the United States, and also those of Britain and other countries. It emphasises the military historical and international political context of the RMA, and suggests a number of reasons why the impact of current technological and conceptual developments may not be quite as great in practice as is sometimes suggested. It concludes that an RMA probably is underway but that, just like previous cases, it does not necessarily provide an easy answer to every complex contemporary political and strategic problem.

Tim Benbow is a Senior Lecturer in Strategic Studies and International Affairs at Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, and a Fellow of the School of Historical, Political and Sociological Studies at the University of Exeter.