If the military were a business, would you buy shares? Over recent years, Western armed forces, particularly the US, have been costing more yet achieving less. At the same time, austerity measures are reducing defence budgets. This book uses defence data to examine the workings of modern Western militaries and explore what kind of strategies can overcome this gap between input and output. Instead of focusing on military strategy, Mikkel Vedby Rasmussen seeks to draw on the ideas of business strategy to assess alternative business cases - reforming military HR to combat instability in the 'Global South' or utilising new technologies to overcome the prohibitive costs of current systems. Analysing the philosophical, strategic and budgetary underpinnings of these alternatives, he concludes that a more radical break from current military organisational practices is needed which would allow them to fit within a nation's overall national security system without ever-increasing budgets.

Argues that Western militaries must reform in order to become viable businesses that address relevant security issues within realistic budgets.

About the Author
Mikkel Vedby Rasmussen is a professor at the University of Copenhagen. He is currently on leave working on policy development in the Danish Ministry of Defence. Rasmussen has previously headed the Centre for Military Studies and the Danish Institute for Military Studies in Copenhagen. He was published widely on security and defence matters, including The Risk Society at War (Cambridge University Press, 2006).

Reviews
'Why are Western armed forces achieving less and costing more, asks the author. Why, we might add, if the trend continues they seem to be fated to occupy a modest evolutionary niche? Rasmussen has produced not only a lucid, informed and compelling critique of the West's failed military business model but also a set of prescriptions it would be wise to take on board before it is too late.' Christopher Coker, London School of Economics and Political Science
'In this brilliant book, Rasmussen explores why states are getting ever less bang for their bucks. Finding that defence 'shopping lists' have replaced 'strategy', he draws on business studies to show how Western militaries need to be redesigned for the 21st century. In an age of continued austerity, with Europe facing military challenges to the east and the south, this really is an essential read.' Theo Farrell, Head of the Department of War Studies, King's College London
'The Military's Business is both a crash course in military and business strategy and an empirical analysis of historical developments. At its finest, the book manages to apply philosophical terms to mundane phenomena such as defense procurement and management and, in doing so, it makes a number of interesting reflections on how societies think about and utilize their militaries.' Nikolaj K. Andersen, Global Readers' Club (www.globalreadersclub.com)



Book Information
ISBN 9781107477353
Author Mikkel Vedby Rasmussen
Format Paperback
Page Count 232
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 380g
Dimensions(mm) 228mm * 152mm * 12mm