Applied history should produce better questions

Mahan belonged to a particular nineteenth-century setting, so applying his ideas requires attention to the conditions in which he wrote. Armstrong connects this approach with the War Studies tradition at King's College London, including Andrew Lambert's teaching and Michael Howard's work. Historical experience can inform choices and reveal costs already paid without guaranteeing that the same action will produce the same result. Naval professionals can use that experience to ask better questions about their own circumstances. History pursued for its own sake remains a legitimate approach, even though his teaching has a practical professional purpose.