Welcome to the New Defense-Dominant World - Foreign Policy
foreignpolicy.com
Military power is proving less effective on modern battlefields, and an old theory about defense beating offense may be staging a comeback.
Offense-Defense TheoryBalance of PowerDeterrence TheoryRealism
Theory Briefing
- The article argues that military force is delivering diminishing returns, reviving a classic debate in international relations theory.
- Defense-dominance theory holds that when holding territory is easier than taking it, wars become costlier and less decisive for aggressors.
- A shift toward defense-dominant conditions would reshape how states calculate the risks of launching conflicts or projecting power abroad.
- The piece frames current battlefield trends as evidence that offensive military strategies are losing their historic edge.