Military doctrine

Military doctrine is the expression of how military forces contribute to campaigns, major operations, battles, and engagements. A military doctrine outlines what military means should be used, how forces should be structured, where forces should be deployed, and the modes of cooperation between types of forces.[1] "Joint doctrine" refers to the doctrines shared and aligned by multinational forces or joint service operations.[2]

There are three broad categories of military doctrines: (1) Offensive doctrines aim to disarm an adversary, (2) Defensive doctrines aim to deny an adversary, and (3) Deterrent doctrines aim to punish an adversary. Different military doctrines have different implications for world politics. For example, offensive doctrines tend to lead to arms races and conflicts.[1]

  1. ^ a b Posen, Barry (1984). The Sources of Military Doctrine: France, Britain, and Germany Between the World Wars. Cornell University Press. pp. 13–24. ISBN 978-0-8014-1633-0.
  2. ^ NATO, Allied Joint Doctrine, Allied Joint Publication (AJP)-01(D), Preface, published December 2010, archived 15 August 2022, accessed 2 January 2022