In Defence of New Wars

This article reviews the literature on ‘new wars’. It argues that ‘new wars’ should be understood not as an empirical category but rather as a way of elucidating the logic of contemporary war that can offer both a research strategy and a guide to policy. It addresses four components of the debate: w...

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Main Author: Mary Kaldor
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Centre for Security Governance 2013-03-01
Series:Stability : International Journal of Security and Development
Online Access:http://www.stabilityjournal.org/article/view/24
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spelling doaj-29e88b6e34164b159a6330593a6a347f2020-11-24T23:21:23ZengCentre for Security GovernanceStability : International Journal of Security and Development2165-26272013-03-0121Art. 410.5334/sta.atIn Defence of New WarsMary KaldorThis article reviews the literature on ‘new wars’. It argues that ‘new wars’ should be understood not as an empirical category but rather as a way of elucidating the logic of contemporary war that can offer both a research strategy and a guide to policy. It addresses four components of the debate: whether new wars are ‘new’; whether new wars are war or crime; whether the data supports the claims about new wars; and whether new wars are ‘post-Clausewitzean’. It argues that the obsession with the ‘newness’ of wars misses the point about the logic of new wars; that there is a blurring of war and crime but it is important to address the political elements of new wars; that, although the data should be used with caution, it does seem to offer support for some elements of the new war thesis; and that the argument is indeed post-Clausewitzean because new wars are not ‘contests of wills’ but more similar to a mutual enterprise. It concludes that the debate has greatly enriched the overall argument.http://www.stabilityjournal.org/article/view/24
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Mary Kaldor
spellingShingle Mary Kaldor
In Defence of New Wars
Stability : International Journal of Security and Development
author_facet Mary Kaldor
author_sort Mary Kaldor
title In Defence of New Wars
title_short In Defence of New Wars
title_full In Defence of New Wars
title_fullStr In Defence of New Wars
title_full_unstemmed In Defence of New Wars
title_sort in defence of new wars
publisher Centre for Security Governance
series Stability : International Journal of Security and Development
issn 2165-2627
publishDate 2013-03-01
description This article reviews the literature on ‘new wars’. It argues that ‘new wars’ should be understood not as an empirical category but rather as a way of elucidating the logic of contemporary war that can offer both a research strategy and a guide to policy. It addresses four components of the debate: whether new wars are ‘new’; whether new wars are war or crime; whether the data supports the claims about new wars; and whether new wars are ‘post-Clausewitzean’. It argues that the obsession with the ‘newness’ of wars misses the point about the logic of new wars; that there is a blurring of war and crime but it is important to address the political elements of new wars; that, although the data should be used with caution, it does seem to offer support for some elements of the new war thesis; and that the argument is indeed post-Clausewitzean because new wars are not ‘contests of wills’ but more similar to a mutual enterprise. It concludes that the debate has greatly enriched the overall argument.
url http://www.stabilityjournal.org/article/view/24
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