Military Learning (20th–21st Century)

Abstract

Research into military learning has a long and distinguished pedigree. From its origins in early historical accounts of the “military revolution,” military learning scholarship has been enriched by insights from political science and strategic studies, galvanized by Western interventions in Iraq (2003–2011) and Afghanistan (2001–2021). Military learning, as a field of study, is highly applied yet also vicarious in its use of theory, particularly from organization studies. Attempts at interdisciplinarity have generated an expansive typology with scholars exploring learning at different levels, along different vectors, and in different forms. This typology has been used to chart learning’s dynamic character as well as its relational nature through accounts on the fraught connections between learning, military effectiveness, and culture. Yet, despite this, the field remains fixed in a positivist middle ground. There is, however, significant potential for more radical readings that center learning as a messy, creative phenomenon. This article examines key debates and approaches in the field of military learning. It situates learning relative to other concepts such as adaptation and innovation. The first part considers how military organizations learn, exploring notions of formal and informal learning, and the move away from a purely vectored or directional understanding of this process. The second part focuses on why military organizations learn and considers efforts to chart causal relationships between learning, effectiveness, and culture. The article ends with a reconstructive approach to learning that highlights future areas of research that may bring the field closer to genuine interdisciplinarity.