ABSTRACT
This chapter revisits the more generic problems with military sociology that were highlighted in 2005 and uses them as a template to assess what would constitute a desirable change to the field. An important epistemological challenge of this project was about how to assess what the future might be, an extremely difficult task. The group concluded that linear analyses like trend analysis and technology watch were not satisfactory and went against the most recent findings in futurology. The key strength of the thematic analysis methodology was that it forced military planners to take a multidisciplinary approach, which led to integrating sociological and political considerations into planning, in ways that are holistic in nature, and steering planners away from strictly kinetically based military roles. The work done so far using institutional analysis has barely scratched the surface of that potential.
