THE FUTURE OF WARFIGHTING

Abstract

It has become commonplace among analysts of all persuasions to insist that in recent years warfare has changed radically. Of course change in warfare is nothing new – like any human activity it is subject to the powerful influences of societal and technological change. But this is different. The shifts that these analysts point to are, they insist, radical. That is to say, they contend that these changes represent a fundamental altering of the nature of warfare. Depending on their particular disciplinary perspectives, the actual changes pointed to by these scholars differ. For some it is the genocidal practice and ethnic politics that are increasingly at the centre of today's armed conflicts that are the most important distinctives of these 'new wars'. For others it is the advent of information warfare and the rise of the computer-geek 'info-warrior' that represents the vanguard of the revolution. Others still point to the new-found focus on human rights in warfare, and with it the rise of the applicability of humanitarian grounds for military intervention as well as the consequent decline of the sanctity of the sovereign state. Yet others point to the growing involvement of non-state actors in warfare, and argue that this portends a future in which states will no longer dominate armed conflicts. And finally (though not exhaustively) there are the proponents of the so-called Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA) who insist that recent technological advances (such as the development of precision-guided munitions,