When I read recently about the Norwegian Defence University College beginning to offer a Master’s degree in “warfare” and military operations in 2027, I wondered what the word meant and what was the inspiration behind the program.
Could it be NATO commitments and the threat to Europe from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine?
Was it Donald Trump’s threat to acquire Greenland from Denmark by whatever means necessary?
Would America’s interest switch to Norway’s Svalbard archipelago if the Greenland gambit failed?
If you are not familiar with Svalbard, it is a chain of islands north of Norway, with Spitsbergen being the largest. It is sovereign Norwegian territory, and in the absence of using Greenland, could be a key chokepoint to block Russia’s Kola Peninsula-stationed Northern Fleet from reaching the Atlantic Ocean?
The Dean of the new Master’s program, Saira Basit, opined recently about the need for a Master’s and future PhD programs on warfare, stating:
“There is no doubt that what is happening in Ukraine, and also in Iran, makes it even more important to understand how we in Norway must conduct knowledge development about and in warfare, in order to be as well-equipped as possible for the future.”
Norway is offering the Master’s program to all NATO allies and has even created an English-language curriculum.
Definition of Warfare
So, what does “warfare” mean? The dictionary definition is “engaging in war.” All the activities, methods, and mechanics used to fight a war fall under the definition. Modern warfare comes with variations. These are:
- Conventional warfare can be defined in the current war between Russia and Ukraine. Carl von Clausewitz would have defined it as using military means to achieve political objectives.
- Asymmetric warfare is best represented by the current U.S.-Israeli versus Iran war, where one side has overwhelming advantages while the other fights in unconventional ways, such as attacking third parties or blocking rights of passage through international waterways.
- Cyberwarfare describes using the Internet and software to hack into an adversary’s information systems and infrastructure.
- Psychological warfare describes spreading disinformation and propaganda to manipulate an adversary’s government or the general population.
- Economic warfare is best described by the actions of Donald Trump with arbitrary tariffs for both friend and foe nations, and the current economic blockade of Cuba.
- Biological and chemical warfare has happened inadvertently and deliberately. The best example of inadvertent biological warfare occurred after the European discovery of the Americas, where diseases wiped out almost 90% of the inhabitants of the two continents. Germany used mustard gas, a chemical weapon, in World War I. Iraq used sarin, tabun and mustard gas in its war with Iran from 1980 to 1988. Syria used sarin on civilian populations during the country’s civil war.
Teaching Warfare in North America
The Norwegian announcement got me thinking about other academic programs focused on warfare. A quick Internet search found the word “warfare” appearing in university curricula within many countries. More often, “military science” was a euphemism for the subject of war. Another common curriculum title was “history of war.”
For North America, I found the following:
- Canada has the Royal Military College in Kingston, Ontario, where enrolees can get a Master’s and PhD degrees in War Studies.
- West Point in New York offers master’s degrees to those training to become Army officers. Although no course is titled warfare, the curriculum includes military science, the history of war, and war theory and practice.
- The U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, teaches naval science. The word warfare doesn’t come up. Instead, Midshipmen select majors covering a wide range of subjects taught to support future naval assignments.
- The U.S. Air Force Academy (USAFA) near Colorado Springs, Colorado, has no courses or degrees with warfare in the title. Cadets learn military strategy, get flight training, and study weapon systems and tactics.
- West Virginia-based, the American Military University offers an online Master of Arts in Military Studies. Students can take courses on modern armed conflict, strategic leadership, joint warfare and irregular warfare.
- Mexico’s Heroico Colegio Militar is the army academy. Although it offers no courses entitled warfare, two universities, the University of the Northeast in Tampico, and the National Autonomous University of Mexico in Mexico City, offer Master’s and PhD programs in military science. Mexico’s naval academy, Escuela Militar Naval, offers courses on naval warfare and maritime operations, but no Master’s program.
Teaching Warfare Elsewhere
War studies, war and defence, military science, security and international relations programs exist in most countries in one form or another. A search using the term warfare programs produced about three dozen. Looking for programs that used terms “military conflict” and “history of war,” I found dozens more.
Universities, as well as branches of the military, are actively teaching courses on every conceivable type of warfare today.
I found programs in Australia, China, Egypt, Europe, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam.
In Africa, 42 of the continent’s 54 countries offer warfare programs.
In South America, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru all list warfare schools and training centres, some offering programs through their militaries, while others through formal academic studies at universities.
The world in the 21st century appears to be well armed and well informed about how to fight wars of every conceivable type. Wouldn’t it be great to see as many countries addressing climate change with the same conviction as they do warfare?
