Military and Defense Studies
Military and Defense Studies is a research topic within Political Science and International Relations. Science Explorer counts 7.1k research works in it since 1950. 15.3% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.
This cluster of papers explores the rise of the privatized military industry, the outsourcing of war and security functions, the impact on international law and civil-military relations, and the challenges and opportunities in global governance and peacekeeping operations.
- Privatized Military Industry
- Private Security Companies
- Outsourcing War
- Government Privatization
- Military Contractors
- International Law
- Homeland Security
- Global Governance
- Civil-Military Relations
- Peacekeeping Operations
- Research works
- 7.1k fractional, since 1950
- In the world top 10%
- 1.1k per year above
- Top-10% rate
- 15.3% share of its works in the world top 10%
- Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
- -20% the tick is no change
Which countries lead Military and Defense Studies research?
By volume, the United States and the United Kingdom publish the most (212 and 64 works in 2022–2025).
By volume, 2022–2025
- 1 United States 212 works
- 2 United Kingdom 64 works
- 3 Canada 37 works
- 4 Poland 34 works
- 5 Russia 27 works
- 6 Australia 27 works
- 7 Romania 24 works
- 8 Ukraine 19 works
- 9 Germany 18 works
- 10 Türkiye 16 works
How concentrated that is
The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.
Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.
Which institutions lead Military and Defense Studies research?
By volume in 2022–2025, Carol I National Defence University publishes the most Military and Defense Studies research, followed by Indonesia Defense University and King's College London.
By volume, 2022–2025
- 1 Carol I National Defence UniversityRomania 8 works
- 2 Indonesia Defense UniversityIndonesia 7 works
- 3 King's College LondonUnited Kingdom 6 works
- 4 Nicolae Bălcescu Land Forces AcademyRomania 6 works
- 5 Ludovika University of Public ServiceHungary 5 works
- 6 Carleton UniversityCanada 5 works
- 7 Human Growth FoundationUnited States 4 works
- 8 Naval Postgraduate SchoolUnited States 4 works
- 9 George Washington UniversityUnited States 4 works
- 10 Stellenbosch UniversitySouth Africa 4 works
Who are the leading researchers in Military and Defense Studies?
The most-cited researchers publishing on Military and Defense Studies include James A. Russell, E. P. Wigner and Stanley Hoffmann.
- 1 James A. Russell United States 5k citations
- 2 E. P. Wigner United States 2.8k citations
- 3 Stanley Hoffmann United States 2.3k citations
Ranked by citations received across their whole record, among researchers with at least three works on this topic.
Where is Military and Defense Studies research done?
The largest centres of Military and Defense Studies research in 2022–2025 are Washington D.C. (United States), London (United Kingdom), Moscow (Russia) and Bucharest (Romania). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Washington D.C..
Largest cities, 2022–2025
Where it is the local speciality
- Washington D.C.US · 21.0 works7.8×
Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Military and Defense Studies than the world average.
Is Military and Defense Studies research growing?
Output in 2018–2022 was 20% lower than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2010. The fastest-growing topics are Military and Defense Studies.
The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.
Which topics inside it are moving
Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.