Book Description

This study explores the influence of culture on the requirements for a Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA). It assesses how cultural factors at the strategic and the U.S. Army organizational levels may affect the changes required for realizing an RMA. Defined as a paradigmatic shift in the conduct of military affairs spurred by the confluence of organizational change with new and existing technologies and concepts of operations, the RMA has long been a controversial analytical construct. This thesis accepts the premise that the history of warfare can be interpreted as a series of RMAs. It explores the complex and powerful influence of American strategic culture and the organizational culture of the U.S. Army on the organizational, doctrinal, technology, funding and other factors vital to the realization of an RMA. The study compares the influence of U.S. strategic and Army organizational culture on the RMA during the interwar period (1919-1941) and the contemporary period (since the 2011 withdrawal of U.S. combat forces from Iraq) to highlight similarities and differences that U.S. military and civilian leaders can learn from to change the paradigm of military affairs in America's favor.This compilation includes a reproduction of the 2019 Worldwide Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community. I. INTRODUCTION * A. RESEARCH INQUIRY * B. RESEARCH CHALLENGES * C. LITERATURE REVIEW * 1. Strategic Culture * a. The First Generation of Literature on Strategic Culture * b. The Second Generation of Literature on Strategic Culture * c. The Third Generation of Literature on Strategic Culture * 2. Organizational Culture * a. Approaches to Defining Organizational Culture * b. Approaches to Studying Culture * D. U.S. SECURITY STRATEGY AND U.S. ARMY TRANSFORMATION * 1. The Interwar Period * a. Strategy * b. U.S. Army Transformation * 2. Contemporary Period since the Iraq War * a. Strategy * b. U.S. Army Transformation * E. METHODS AND SOURCES * F. THESIS ORGANIZATION * II. INFLUENCE OF INTERWAR CULTURE ON THE REVOLUTION IN MILITARY AFFAIRS * A. STRATEGIC CULTURE * 1. Interwar Era U.S. Politics, Defense Policy and the RMA * 2. The American Way of War and the RMA (Interwar Period) * 3. Force and Diplomacy in U.S. Foreign Policy and the RMA * 4. The National Cognitive Style and the RMA (Interwar Era) * B. U.S. ARMY CULTURE AND THE RMA IN THE INTERWAR PERIOD * 1. Army Doctrine, Change and the RMA in the Interwar Period * 2. Army Organization, Change and the RMA in the Interwar Period * 3. Army Materiel, Change and the RMA in the Interwar Period * C. CONCLUSION * III. INFLUENCE OF CONTEMPORARY CULTURE ON THE REVOLUTION IN MILITARY AFFAIRS * A. STRATEGIC CULTURE AND THE RMA IN THE CONTEMPORARY PERIOD (2011-PRESENT) * 1. Contemporary U.S. Politics, Defense Policy and the RMA * 2. The American Way of War, and the RMA * 3. Force and Diplomacy in U.S. Foreign Policy and the RMA * 4. The National Cognitive Style and the RMA * B. U.S. ARMY CULTURE AND THE RMA IN THE CONTEMPORARY PERIOD * 1. Army Doctrine Change and the RMA in the Contemporary Period * 2. Army Organization, Change and the RMA in the Contemporary Period * 3. Army Materiel, Change and the RMA in the Contemporary Period * C. CONCLUSION * IV. MANAGING CULTURE TO ACHIEVE AN RMA * A. MANAGING STRATEGIC CULTURE TO ACHIEVE AN RMA * 1. U.S. Politics, Defense Policy and the RMA * 2. The American Way of War * 3. Force and Diplomacy in U.S. Foreign Policy and the RMA * 4. The National Cognitive Style and the RMA * B. MANAGING ARMY CULTURE IN PURSUIT OF AN RMA * V. CONCLUSION