There will be nothing new here. More mindful readers will yet again be aware that this issue is, yet again, late. It is late for the same reasons as always and that is because it is extremely hard to secure articles with the standard of insights required to get published.
“Oh,” but I hear you wail, “how come all the Strategy blogs have no such problems.” This is like asking why dolphins can’t hold their breath for more time than sharks. Blogs can publish anything they want; finish writing at 10:00, publish at 10:30, perhaps take it down to make corrections, and there appears to be no real minimum standard.
The content of this issue shows we hold our contributors to a high standard but it also maybe that we have standards that are too high for the frequency of publication we aim for.
Military Strategy Magazine (MSM) rests on nothing more than the quality of the published work, that will endure into institutions that hold it, such as the Library of Congress, or how often it can be referenced from citations in other work. The content is free of charge, so there is no other agenda here. It is produced for professional community benefit.
As previously stated, the word Strategy has become meaningless to the extent that most definitions are nugatory and arbitrary. Thus, MSM finds itself adhering to ideas and teaching, which while 100% valid do not fulfil the entertainment value that the market wants. We want to cure cancer with surgery and proven therapeutics in a marketplace that has greater belief in scented candles and healing crystals.
Regardless of what has happened to date, the time for change may well be upon us. Change maybe painful and destructive. Change may ultimately mean demise, but demise might be preferable to irrelevance. Strategy is a practical skill at the point of application. Very few people are strategists, but many people think they are students of Strategy. Strategy can only be done as tactics, so unless you really understand tactics – that is the application of combat forces in the engagements – then all other claims to Strategy are suspect. It maybe that for too long MSM has failed to state this as the non-discretionary basis for your position. We shall see.