05/12/2017 - Post-Cold War Military Innovation in Regional Powers

WHEN: Tuesday, 5 December 2017, 16:00–17:30

WHERE: MUP Prague-Strašnice building, Dubečská 900/10, room no. 305

Free entry, no registration required.

Abstract: In the past 20 years, a number of regional powers have emerged to challenge the status quo established by the fall of the Soviet Union. From a military perspective, of particular interest are the irredentist regional powers such as China, Russia, or Iran, which are dissatisfied with regional or even global power structures and security arrangements. This lecture examines military innovation – focusing on navies and maritime forces – amongst these regional powers, meaning tactics, strategies, and technologies that do not emulate the standard practice of established militaries, especially those of NATO, and therefore could lead to increased complexity in already-tense security climates. The lecture draws on the historical tradition of naval theory, as well as neoclassical realism, to argue that these recent developments mirror other pushes by irredentist powers to compensate through innovation, as was the case in the Soviet Union.