The Changing Face of Warfare in the 21st Century

Gregory Simons, Iulian Chifu

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2017
• Print ISBN: 9780367901349
• eBook ISBN: 9781317039006
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Politics
• Index: Politics & International Relations

This study discusses salient trends demonstrated by contemporary warfare of these first years of the 21st century. The authors reinforce previous notions of Fourth Generation Warfare, but most importantly explore the workings of new components and how these have modified the theory and practice of warfare beyond the basic divisions of conventional and unconventional warfare as witnessed in the preceding century. Throughout history there has been a close interaction between politics, communication and armed conflict and a main line of investigation of this book is to track changes that are presumed to have occurred in the way and manner in which armed conflicts are waged.

Using cogent examples drawn variously from conflicts of the Arab Spring, the Islamic State and Russian adventurism in South Ossetia, Crimea and Eastern Ukraine, the authors demonstrate the application of Information Warfare, the practice of Hybrid Warfare, and offensive use of diplomacy, communications, economics and international law to obtain political and military advantages against the status quo states of the international community.

The authors combine a theoretical framework with concrete empirical examples in order to create a better understanding and comprehension of the current events and processes that shape the character of contemporary armed conflicts and how they are informed and perceived in a highly mediatised and politicised world.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Author Biographies
• 1 Introduction: waging war in the 21st century
• 2 Attempts at controlling the news flow: good news wars
• 3 Hybrid warfare, lawfare, informational warfare: the wars of the future
• 4 Hybrid warfare: comparative view ISIL versus “little green men”
• 5 Lawfare: fighting with the legal framework and reaching military objectives by using the law
• 6 The pattern of Russia’s informational war
• 7 Strategic messages in the August 2008 Georgian–Russian War
• 8 Communication management and the humanitarian war blueprint: the Libya War
• 9 Propaganda and the information war against Syria: the latest war for peace
• 10 Power through subversion: shaping perception and opinion on Ukraine’s Euromaidan through manufacturing knowledge
• 11 Observations and conclusions
• Index