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Open research questions in Military History and Strategy

162 gap statements mined from Military History and Strategy papers in our 7.9M-paper local library, which holds 2,002 papers on the topic — drawn mostly from each paper's own stated research gap, future-work, challenge and limitation notes, and its abstract. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one.

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What the literature leaves open

  • McNamara argued one reason why the US lost in Vietnam was insufficient country expertise.

    If only we understood them better: country experts and the American War in Vietnam · 2026 · DOI

  • The Irish Civil War has not been examined in-depth through the lens of modern counterinsurgency doctrine.

    Turning Tactical Victories into Strategic Success: Counterinsurgency in the Irish Civil War, 1922–23 · 2026 · DOI

  • The deployment of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) in Southeast (SE) Nigeria has escalated significantly yet remains underexplored in scholarly discourse.

    Non-military actors, IED networks and guerrilla warfare: unpacking small wars dynamics within the conflict landscape in Southeast Nigeria · 2025 · DOI

  • Defining victory in contemporary irregular warfare is an elusive strategic problem, as traditional metrics based on battlefield outcomes are insufficient in conflicts characterized by ambiguity, asymmetry, and the centrality of the information environment.

    The anatomy of victory in irregular warfare: a multidimensional framework for command · 2025 · DOI

  • That the conflict’s global dimensions led British forces beyond the Western Front to operate in conditions which bore remarkable resemblance to those encountered during the ‘small wars’ of the nineteenth century and confront comparably irregular adversaries has remained understudied, not least in how earlier experiences affected how such challenges were met.

    The application of ‘Small Wars’ theory and experience by the British Army in Macedonia during the First World War · 2024 · DOI

  • The need to balance the role of technology and human factors in modern warfare.

    Michael Calmeyer: A Dutch Infantry Officer Contemplates Modern War, 1935–1940 · 2026 · DOI

  • The study identifies a gap in the existing literature on the use of deception in military operations, highlighting the need for a concept that can be used to induce the adversary to make unfavorable decisions. The research problem was formulated as the question: How can an opponent be induced to adopt an incorrect force disposition that will hinder further tactical operations?

    Działania kształtujące do planów alternatywnych jako element mylenia przeciwnika · 2026 · DOI

  • The study addresses the lack of research on the value of military leadership experience in higher education.

    Complexity, Culture, and Command · 2026 · DOI

  • The study of military history in East and South-East Asia is complicated by the lack of written evidence in some societies. The field of military history in South-East Asia is thinly populated and features an eclectic mix of scholars.

    Introduction: the reception of the harquebus in East and South-East Asia · 2026 · DOI

  • The understanding of the harquebus' impact on non-European warfare is limited. There is a lack of research on the early use of gunpowder weapons by Korean armies.

    Introduction: the reception of the harquebus in East and South-East Asia · 2026 · DOI

  • The article concludes that the revisionists are correct in their belief that Asian societies were undergoing rapid changes in military technology and practices along the lines of those taking place in western Europe and that the standard model Bryant defends is incorrect because it presumes that Asian societies are more stagnant than is warranted by the evidence.

    An Accelerating Divergence? The Revisionist Model of World History and the Question of Eurasian Military Parity: Data from East Asia · 2010 · DOI

  • The lack of analysis of the concept of an aerial Todesstoss (death blow).

    Evolution of U.S. Strategic Bombing of Urban Areas · 1987 · DOI

  • The industrial relations literature has paid little attention to military employment. There is a need to examine the development of military industrial relations in Australia.

    The Development of Military Industrial Relations in Australia · 1987 · DOI

  • The lack of adequate supplies and equipment for troops in the field.

    Fraternal Organizations and Factionalism within the Armed Forces of the Philippines · 1987 · DOI

  • The lack of understanding of the causes of factionalism within the AFP. The need to address the serious discipline and morale problem among troops in the field.

    Fraternal Organizations and Factionalism within the Armed Forces of the Philippines · 1987 · DOI

  • The study highlights the need to evaluate the operational efficiency of Haig and GHQ.

    A particular style of command: Haig and GHQ, 1916–18 · 1987 · DOI

  • What is lacking, however, is a comprehensive analysis of the whole complex. A re-interpretation of known sources alone, using new approaches, such as, for example, those developed by modern political science, is warranted, especially in view of the age of the existing secondary literature.

    Facing ‘people's war’: Moltke the elder and Germany's military options after 1871 · 1987 · DOI

  • The limited literature on this topic has fuelled a popular orthodoxy which holds that the UK intelligence effort and policies to recruit German defence scientists were classic examples of the ‘British disease’, or a more general inability to exploit a technological opportunity that was harnessed so effectively by the other victorious Allies.

    Operation ‘Surgeon’ and Britain's post-war exploitation of Nazi German aeronautics · 2002 · DOI

  • Further analysis of the role of tanks and aircraft in modern warfare. Investigation of the effectiveness of different military strategies in contemporary conflicts.

    Michael Calmeyer: A Dutch Infantry Officer Contemplates Modern War, 1935–1940 · 2026 · DOI

  • The study aims to fill a gap in the understanding of the CT-43A airplane crash, by providing a comprehensive analysis of the diplomatic purpose of the mission, the circumstances of the accident, and the Croatian institutional response.

    Three decades after the CT-43 airplane crash near Dubrovnik in 1996: forensic reconstruction, diplomatic memory, and Croatian–American collaboration · 2026 · DOI

  • The paper identifies a gap in understanding how to turn adversity into opportunity in a military context. The paper highlights the importance of leadership in the military.

    Q&A with Marine Special Operator “NP”: Turning Adversity into Opportunity · 2026 · DOI

  • The need for binding agreements and established relationships between civil and military actors - The lack of effective cooperation between civil and military systems in response to disasters - The need for large-scale field exercises to improve international interoperability and disaster…

    International Civil-Military Disaster Response Exercises: Lessons Learned from NATO Emergency Management Exercise “Bulgaria 2025” · 2026 · DOI

  • This article thus fills a gap in the literature on resistance to militarism by investigating a series of anti‐ JROTC campaigns in the city of Baltimore, beginning in 1979.

    “The New Beachhead Is in Secondary Education”: Campaigns Against Junior ROTC in Baltimore · 2017 · DOI

  • Further analysis of the concept of an aerial Todesstoss (death blow). Examination of the impact of the U.S. strategic bombing policy on future conflicts.

    Evolution of U.S. Strategic Bombing of Urban Areas · 1987 · DOI

  • The study suggests that future research should examine the processes that shape the emergence and change of repertoires of collective action, - It also suggests that future research should investigate the relationship between tactical evolution and the rise of the state, the changing class structure, and other…

    Fields of action: Structure in movements' tactical repertoires · 1987 · DOI

Most-cited papers in Military History and Strategy

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Open questions raised by papers listed on this page include: (1) The Irish Civil War has not been examined in-depth through the lens of modern counterinsurgency doctrine (“Turning Tactical Victories into Strategic Success: Counterinsurgency in the…”, 2026); (2) The study addresses the lack of research on the value of military leadership experience in higher education (“Complexity, Culture, and Command”, 2026); (3) The study of military history in East and South-East Asia is complicated by the lack of written evidence in some societies (“Introduction: the reception of the harquebus in East and South-East Asia”, 2026); (4) The deployment of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) in Southeast (SE) Nigeria has escalated significantly yet remains underexplored in scholarly discourse (“Non-military actors, IED networks and guerrilla warfare: unpacking small wars…”, 2025); (5) The lack of analysis of the concept of an aerial Todesstoss (death blow) (“Evolution of U.S. Strategic Bombing of Urban Areas”, 1987). 162 gap statements have been mined from Military History and Strategy papers in our 7.9M-paper local library, which holds 2,002 papers on the topic; the gaps come from whichever of those papers state one. They are mostly the research gaps the authors state and the papers' abstracts, plus future-work, limitations and challenges passages. The ones listed below are a selection still marked open; each names the study that raised it, with a DOI link where the paper has one, so you can read the original claim in context.

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