Book ID: CBB009123351

Weapon of choice: Small arms and the culture of military innovation (2017)

unapi

Ford, Matthew C. (Author)


Oxford University Press


Publication Date: 2017
Physical Details: xii + 248
Language: English

This book examines Western military technological innovation through the lens of developments in small arms during the twentieth century. These weapons have existed for centuries, appear to have matured only incrementally and might seem unlikely technologies for investigating the trajectory of military-technical change. Their relative simplicity, however, makes it easy to use them to map patterns of innovation within the military-industrial complex. Advanced technologies may have captured the military imagination, offering the possibility of clean and decisive outcomes, but it is the low technologies of the infantryman that can help us develop an appreciation for the dynamics of military-technical change. Tracing the path of innovation from battlefield to back office, and from industry to alliance partner, Ford develops insights into the way that small arms are socially constructed. He thereby exposes the mechanics of power across the military-industrial complex. This in turn reveals that shifting power relations between soldiers and scientists, bureaucrats and engineers, have allowed the private sector to exploit infantry status anxiety and shape soldier weapon preferences. Ford's analysis allows us to draw wider conclusions about how military innovation works and what social factors frame Western military purchasing policy, from small arms to more sophisticated and expensive weapons. (Worldcat)

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Reviewed By

Review Giacomo Macola (April 2018) Review of "Weapon of choice: Small arms and the culture of military innovation". Technology and Culture (pp. 487-489). unapi

Citation URI
https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB009123351/

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Authors & Contributors
Bridger, Sarah
Hilaker, Harry J.
Baxter, Colin F.
Macola, Giacomo
Bedwell, Don
Peter B. Thompson
Concepts
Military technology
Weapons
Technological innovation
Cold War
Military–industrial complex
Technology and war; technology and the military
Time Periods
20th century
19th century
21st century
18th century
20th century, early
20th century, late
Places
United States
Indian Ocean
Americas
Japan
Germany
France
Institutions
United States. Army
Strategic Defense Initiative
Air Force Research Laboratory (Kirtland Air Force Base)
Kaiser-Wilhelm-Instituten
Sandia National Laboratories (United States)
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