Description

Progressive democratization, the presence of a military superpower and the dream of
an international order maintained by an international authority do not enhance the
appearance of conventional armed conflicts. However, the discovery of new frailties
that can be exploited by aggressors, the proliferation of motives, including ideological
motives, for waging war and the spread of technologies that can be used in new forms
of warfare have led to war and armed conflicts breaking out of their classic mould,
becoming hybrid and going beyond their previous boundaries. The author argues for
an updated polemology which endeavours to explain the mechanisms of these new
types of warfare.