"Fog of War" in Pieces of Classical Authors: Clausewitz a Tolstoy

Abstract:

The proponents of Revolution in Military Affairs claim that modern military technology will lift a "fog of war". In this article the term "fog of war" is described and illustrated in a work of Carl von Clausewitz who is supposed to introduce this term, used also in the famous novel War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. These classics show us that uncertainty and chance, in other words fogs of war, are essential to human mentality. They will be present as long as war remains within a scope human endeavour. Emphasizing that military technology is equal to lifting the "fog of war" can lead to situation in which only trained commanders are supposed be able perfectly address problems in "chessboard" of war or computer simulators, but they will unable to manage a real world full of chaos, as they not used to count with uncertainties.

Tomáš Kučera, PhD, born 1985, is an assistant professor at the Institute of Political Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University. He received PhD at Aberystwyth University, UK, in 2014. His PhD thesis analysed liberal features of military and defence policies of Western European societies, Germany and the United Kingdom in particular. Routledge published the thesis as The Military and Liberal Society in 2018. His teaching focuses on civil-military relations, military sociology, and ethics of armed conflicts.


Country: Czech Republic

25/10/2022

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