On 17 March 2023, the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) published the article "The War for the Soul of Military Thought: Futurists, Traditionalists, Institutionalists and Conflict Realists" by LTC Amos C. Fox, U.S. Army. The publication discusses the four primary schools of thought when it comes to the future of armed conflict: Futurists, Traditionalists, Institutionalists, and Conflict Realists.

IN BRIEF:

• Conflict Realists provide an alternative lens to the study of war and warfare, which brings a different flavor of analysis than that provided by the mainstream Futurists, Traditionalists and Institutionalists.
• Conflict Realists are under-represented in existing military thinking, often being pushed aside because their point of view clashes with overly optimistic, narrative-driven and aspirational perspectives on war and warfare.
• Conflict Realists find that armed conflict today—and, arguably, in the future—is decidedly urban and attritional and that it involves ubiquitous proxy war.

Read the full article here

The views presented in this article are those of the speaker or author and do not necessarily represent the views of DoD or its components.