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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2013-03-01
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Series: | Stability : International Journal of Security and Development |
Online Access: | http://www.stabilityjournal.org/article/view/24 |
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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. |
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http://www.stabilityjournal.org/article/view/24 |
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