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Krigsvetenskaplig forskning är central för vår förståelse av krig och krigföring och utgör denvetenskapliga grunden för officersutbildningen i Sverige. När Försvarshögskolan startade sitt doktorandprogram i krigsvetenskap hösten 2019 var en milstolpe uppnådd för studiet av krig och krigföring i Sverige. En framgångsrik forskarutbildning i krigsvetenskap garanterar en kontinuerlig tillväxt av forskare med expertkunskap om krig och försvar i en svenskkontext. En framgångsrik forskarutbildning kräver dock att doktoranden socialiseras in i en forskningsmiljö, och problem i socialiseringsprocessen riskerar leda till att doktoranden inteklarar att slutföra sin utbildning. I denna artikel analyseras förutsättningarna för en framgångsrik socialiseringsprocess för doktorander i krigsvetenskap i Sverige. Utifrån teorier om disciplinäritet, d v s vikten av det akademiska ämnets (disciplinens) roll i socialiseringsprocessen, analyseras debatten om krigsvetenskapens natur. Enligt resultaten är krigsvetenskap både interdisciplinärt, d v s en blandning av flera vetenskapliga ämnen, och transdisciplinärt, d v s har en nära relation till praktiken. Detta riskerar att försvåra doktorandernas socialiseringsprocess. Flera förslag för hur handledare och forskningsmiljön i övrigt ska kunna motverka dessa problem på bästa sätt diskuteras i artikeln.

Despite the increased use of military force in peacekeeping operations in the twenty-first century, these operations are not included in traditional strategic theory. In this article, I outline the logic of four strategies for peacekeeping operations – defence, deterrence, compellence and offence – and trace the use of these strategies in two consecutive UN operations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: MONUC and MONUSCO. The article concludes that all four strategies are indeed used in the two operations, but they are neither comprehensive nor proactive, leaving the true potential of military strategy unrealised.

Military Strategy in the 21st Century explores military strategy and the new challenges facing Western democracies in the twenty-first century, including strategy in cyber operations and peacekeeping, challenges for civil-military relations, and the strategic choices of great powers and small states.

The volume contributes to a better understanding of military strategy in the twenty-first century, through exploring strategy from three perspectives: first, the study of strategy, and how our understanding of strategy has changed over time; second, new areas for strategic theory, such as peacekeeping and cyberspace; and third, the makers of strategy, and why states choose suboptimal strategies.

With the increasing number of threats challenging strategy makers, such as great power rivalry, terrorism, intrastate wars, and transnational criminal organisations, Military Strategy in the 21st Century will be of great value to scholars of IR, Security Studies, Strategic Studies, and War Studies as well as policymakers and practitioners working with military strategy in particular and international security and war in general. The chapters were originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Strategic Studies.

Despite the increased use of military force in peacekeeping operations in the twenty-first century, these operations are not included in traditional strategic theory. In this article, I outline the logic of four strategies for peacekeeping operations – defence, deterrence, compellence and offence – and trace the use of these strategies in two consecutive UN operations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: MONUC and MONUSCO. The article concludes that all four strategies are indeed used in the two operations, but they are neither comprehensive nor proactive, leaving the true potential of military strategy unrealised.

This special issue explores military strategy in the twenty-first century. The articles scrutinise strategy from three perspectives: the study of strategy, and how our understanding of strategy has changed over time; new areas for strategic theory, i.e., areas where the development of war has made strategy become more important, such as peacekeeping operations and cyberspace;and the makers of strategy, more specifically why states choses suboptimal strategies and how wars in the twenty-first century influence strategy makers.

US strategic approaches in the African Great Lakes region are primarily based on security assistance for training and equipping African forces for operations in East, North, and West Africa. This assistance risks causing more incidents of violence. A new strategy, based on a comprehensive approach to the security challenges in the region, as well as the deployment of international "boots on the ground" - American or others - is needed to reduce violence and to minimze the risk of new terrorist safe havens appearing in central Africa.

Transnational insurgents are a common feature of contemporary wars, but research on how to address this problem is still scarce. This article examines the South African Defence Force's (SADF) counterinsurgency against Namibian transnational insurgents. It concludes that the South African forces focused a large amount of their efforts outside the borders of Namibia. Highly coercive operations in Angola and Zambia created the space for hearts and minds activities in Namibia, as well as forcing neighboring states to end their support for the insurgents. Although the war in Namibia is somewhat different from contemporary wars, SADF's cross-border strategy gives us some important insights into the regional dynamics of civil wars.