Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Tables, figures and boxes
- Contributors
- Preface and acknowledgements
- Guide to online instructor resources
- Introduction: The origins and changing agendas of international relations
- Part 1 Theories of International Relations
- Part 2 International history
- Part 3 The traditional agenda: States, wars and law
- Part 4 The new agenda: Globalisation and global challenges
- Chapter 20 Non-state actors: A sociology of International Relations?
- Chapter 21 Religion and secularism
- Chapter 22 Global economic institutions
- Chapter 23 Global trade and finance
- Chapter 24 Global poverty, inequality and development
- Chapter 25 Globalisation and its critics
- Chapter 26 Terrorism
- Chapter 27 The international politics of cyberspace
- Chapter 28 The changing character of warfare
- Chapter 29 Post-conflict state-building
- Chapter 30 Humanitarianism and armed intervention
- Chapter 31 Human rights
- Chapter 32 Global public health
- Chapter 33 Migration and refugees
- Chapter 34 Global environmental politics
- Chapter 35 Climate change
- Chapter 36 The futures of International Relations
- References
- Index
- Figure and text acknowledgements
Chapter 28 - The changing character of warfare
from Part 4 - The new agenda: Globalisation and global challenges
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 31 August 2024
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Tables, figures and boxes
- Contributors
- Preface and acknowledgements
- Guide to online instructor resources
- Introduction: The origins and changing agendas of international relations
- Part 1 Theories of International Relations
- Part 2 International history
- Part 3 The traditional agenda: States, wars and law
- Part 4 The new agenda: Globalisation and global challenges
- Chapter 20 Non-state actors: A sociology of International Relations?
- Chapter 21 Religion and secularism
- Chapter 22 Global economic institutions
- Chapter 23 Global trade and finance
- Chapter 24 Global poverty, inequality and development
- Chapter 25 Globalisation and its critics
- Chapter 26 Terrorism
- Chapter 27 The international politics of cyberspace
- Chapter 28 The changing character of warfare
- Chapter 29 Post-conflict state-building
- Chapter 30 Humanitarianism and armed intervention
- Chapter 31 Human rights
- Chapter 32 Global public health
- Chapter 33 Migration and refugees
- Chapter 34 Global environmental politics
- Chapter 35 Climate change
- Chapter 36 The futures of International Relations
- References
- Index
- Figure and text acknowledgements
Summary
The discipline of International Relations owes its origins to the study of war and peace. But are today’s wars so different from their predecessors that we need a new mindset? To answer that question, this chapter begins with warfare’s diverse ends and means before considering five leading issues: the role of violence in warfare; the extent to which that violence is organised; the political nature of war; the interactive nature of warfare; and the scope and scale of war. The argument presented here is that war’s essential features have not changed as much as we might think. This should make us sceptical about claims that the role of war in international relations has somehow been revolutionised.
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- An Introduction to International Relations , pp. 370 - 385Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2024