War studies

Not to be confused with military science.

War studies, sometimes called polemology, is the multi-disciplinary study of war. It pertains to the military, diplomatic, philosophical, social, political, psychological or economic dimensions of human conflict. The word polemology derives from Ancient Greek: πόλεμος, romanized: pólemos, lit. 'war, battle' + -logy.

History

In 1943, King's College London reestablished its military science department as the Department of War Studies. The department was discontinued in 1948, and the field of war studies was taught in the Department of Medieval and Modern History until the Department of War Studies was reinstated in 1962.

Disciplines

• Laws of war – International regulations of warfarePages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
• Philosophy of war – Theory of causes and ethics of armed conflict
  • Ethics of war – Doctrine about when a war is ethically justPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
    • Just war theory – Doctrine about when a war is ethically just
  • Deterrence theory – Military strategy during the Cold War with regard to the use of nuclear weapons
• Psychology of war – Specialized field in psychological sciencePages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
  • Post traumatic stress disorder – Mental disorder associated with traumaPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
  • Psychological operations – Information operations to assist military objectivesPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
• Military history
• Military science – Theory, method, and practice of producing military capability
• Motivations, conduct and effect of war
• Economics of war – Actions taken by a state to mobilize its economy for war productionPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
• Sociology of war
• Sociology of the military – Subfield within sociology which studies the military as a social groupPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets
• International relations – Study of relationships between two or more states
  • International relations theory – Study of international relations from a theoretical perspective
• Political science – Scientific study of politics
• Anthropology – Scientific study of humans, human behavior, and societies

See also

• International humanitarian law – Law of war to protect non-combatants
• Peace and conflict studies – A subject in social science
• Security studies – Discipline of international relations
• Strategic studies – Interdisciplinary academic field
• Wargame – Strategy game that realistically simulates war