Romanian Military Thinking

Opinions • Arguments • Certitudes • Perspectives
on the time, “military science” (during
the Roman period), “the art of cavalry”
(in the Middle Ages), “the art of militia”
(at the beginning of modern times) and
the “art of war” (in the 18 th century). It has
always been included in the art of war and
thus in the military thinking whose upper
level it is” 8 .
“Strategic science needs to be supported by
tactical science, although it is not necessary
for the former to spring from the latter” 9 . “We
must adopt an evolutionary perspective,
which has its starting point in the military
science and reaches, in the contemporary
period, to the strategic science” 10 .
Thus, strategy has become today an
“encoded science”, respectively the “scientific
strategy”, being art and science at the same
time 11 .
Today we have passed from analysing
the practical and historic aspects of war
and armed fight to studying the systemic,
structural and, of course, relational
problems, which has determined an
axiomatic, functional, recursive, analogical
and organizational way of thinking 12 and
led to the appearance of military sciences
that have many components.
Such an epistemological/epistemic
approach determines an elevate presentation
of “the military science theories, principles
and laws and contributes to the unification
of its branches and laws” 13 . These statements,
however, were made thirty years ago.
8 Ibidem.
9 Ibidem.
10 Ibidem.
11 Ibidem.
12 Tratat de {tiin]` Militar`, vol. I, Editura
Militar`, Bucure[ti, 2001, p. 19.
In the meantime, the military power has
transformed from a “medium quality power”
into a “highest quality power”, fact that
requires a new physiognomy for the
military action, and military science has
made the huge step from military science
to military sciences, through capitalising
on its resources and the related social
and political phenomena. However, unlike
other sciences or group of sciences, military
sciences provide commanders and staff
with knowledge and viable solutions to the
complex organizational and planning
problems, those of leading the troops, by
explaining/enumerating forms, procedures
and ways of action that can be successfully
applied in the armed fight and other military
actions/activities, which means, in fact, that
at the basis of the operational potential
of every state military structures and power
should lie the power of knowledge, namely
the power of any army’s knowledge. It is
the only way success in military action,
in the era of information and of the
knowledge-based war, can be achieved.
However, in the second volume of the
Treatise on Military Science, published
in 2001, as a result of the development
of the Romanian military thinking and
theory, the “domain of military sciences” 14
is mentioned.
Professor Vasile Cândea, PhD,
Dr. Honorius Causa and the President
of the Academy of Scientists in Romania
13 Stoian Tudor, Cunoa[tere [i adev`r
în dezvoltarea [tiin]ei militare, in “Probleme
filosofice ale [tiin]ei militare”, vol. IV, Editura
Militar`, Bucure[ti, 1987, p. 53.
14 Tratat de [tiin]` Militar`, vol. II, Editura
Militar`, Bucure[ti, 2001, p. 391.
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