2020/01/01 by Anders McD Sookermany · 3 citations
Economics, Econometrics and Finance · Social Sciences · #Defense, Military, and Policy Studies #Military History and Strategy #Military and Defense Studies
paper · pdf · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-02866-4
openalex publication_date 2020/01/01 · openalex created_date 2020/05/29 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/02
This chapter provides an overview of the development of "New military history," a general term for the broadeningin subject, approaches and methodsof the traditional, narrow operational military historiography. It first deals with the influence of the social, cultural, gender, and global "turns" in general historiography on military historiography. Next, the benefits and possibilities of these new perspectives in military historiography are analyzed, followed by the risks and potential dangers. Finally, the question of what the core of military history should be is discussed and an attempt is made to describe a "comprehensive approach" to analyze military action taken in the past, with a multifaceted "plan of attack" with several possible "axes of attack." "New" military historians who use a comprehensive approach are best placed to explain how the course of military action has influenced the general course of history and thereby can make a full-fledged contribution to general historiography. This unique quality also gives them the ability and the right to participate in or even initiate broader academic debates.