ABSTRACT
This chapter considers two related questions: 'How important is technology in military affairs?' and 'How has the importance of technology changed with the end of the Cold War?' In contrast, the primary military strategy of the nuclear weapons was relatively simple, in the sense that mutual assured destruction implied an all-or-nothing outcome. There are some analyses that have cast doubt on the ultimate usefulness of the most advanced military technologies in the Gulf War. In Afghanistan the technological superiority of the Soviet military forces was equally unable to win that guerrilla war. Technology affects military affairs on two levels. On the first level, technology creates devices, such as tanks, guided missiles and surveillance satellites; on the second level, technology is a world view, an approach towards solving problems; it creates an enthusiasm for technical solutions, an emphasis on quantitative cost-benefit analyses and an interest in efficiency.
