Conclusions

TL;DRAbstract

Two points require stress at the close: variety and unpredictability. The first relates to the range of military tasks, and social and political contexts that can be seen throughout this period. For reasons of space, it is usual to underplay this variety and to focus on what appears to be the dominant trend, specifically to concentrate on paradigms and exemplars, but this is misleading for two reasons. First, it leads to an underrating of the variety of circumstances that pertained, and, secondly, it leads to an analytical model that is questionable. In particular, the notion that developments in a paradigmatic power explained what happened elsewhere, not least through a process of diffusion, is questionable. It underplays the variety and autonomy of military tasks and circumstances.

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