Description
In recent years, Western militaries have acknowledged a requirement to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels due to climate change and the global energy transition. However, transitioning to what we term 'low-carbon' warfare creates challenges, affecting everything from where, when, with what and for what ends military forces are deployed. Anticipating this paradigm shift in military operations, UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) officials and armed forces personnel have already started to outline a new theory of victory, aiming to reduce operational reliance on fossil fuels while leveraging emerging green technology for operational advantage. Building on recent scholarship on socio-technical transitions and military innovation, and using data from interviews and focus groups with UK MOD officials and armed forces personnel, this paper examines the socio-technical imaginaries that are underpinning the emerging 'theory of victory'. Moreover, we assess the MOD's approach to low-carbon warfare, as well as the operational challenges and opportunities that defence officials expect to face as the world decarbonises.
