Postmodern Warfare PDF Download

"The idea that warfare is changing drastically has garnered significant attention over the past few decades. Some commentators contend that such change is revolutionary, that warfare is entering a new era. Indeed, many historians, sociologists, and even practitioners of warfare argue that the entire history of human kind is entering a new era. A plethora of descriptors exist to describe such change, including terms such as the information age, the end of history, fourth generation warfare, or the postmodern epoch. Current events often serve as the basis for pundits to sound these calls of change. New technologies, developments in international politics, and changes in civil - military relationships seem to arrive quickly and promise unending alterations to society. However, a proper assessment of these developments must rely on a theory - based analysis. Furthermore, this assessment must be cognizant of great historical continuities in war and politics. These diverse descriptors of change have certain elements in common that deserve such a rigorous analysis grounded in theory. Namely, they tend to include discourse about postmodernist relativism, post - nationalism, and post - industrialism. This discourse often revolves around the nature of conflict itself, changes in global politics and civil - military relations, and novel technological innovation. Such changes can be more easily understood and assessed if they are bundled into a clear, coherent concept of postmodern warfare. Postmodern warfare clarifies the meaning of postmodernism and its war - related dimensions, and applies theory to current developments in order to understand them and make appropriate judgments. Postmodern warfare is comprised of identity - based politics, post - national global political structures, and post - industrial technology. Despite ubiquitous clamors of revolutionary change, postmodern warfare is out of sight, beyond the horizon. Nonetheless, a clear understanding of what postmodern warfare is helps leaders develop a plan for action and decision. "--Abstract.