Vladimir Shirogorov. Quo Vadis. The Military Revolution in Eastern Europe (original) (raw)

The concept of the military revolution is a go-to research paradigm for studies on the Early Modern Period. However, it lacks an accepted definition or established theoretical framework. These omissions allow scholars to choose from a wide range of interpretations, from presenting the military revolution as a reportage from battlefields, or a sociological “ideal type” to complete negation. The current essay is committed to disentangle the web of the military revolution’s history and historiography. It tracks warfare determinants during the Early Modern transformation of East-European nations and compares the socio-political impact of their respective military changes. The essay also proposes a periodization of the military revolution’s epoch in conjunction to the concept of the fiscal-military state.