Routledge Handbook of the Future of Warfare

This handbook provides a comprehensive, problem-driven, and dynamic overview of the future of warfare, highlighting discernible trends, key developments, and themes without downplaying the lessons from the past. It is divided into six thematic sections and focuses on technology as the principal trigger of changes and alterations in the essence of warfare. It will be of great interest to students of strategic studies, defense studies, war and technology, and International Relations.

Format: Hardback
Length: 490 pages
Publication date: 19 September 2023
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

The future of warfare is a complex and multifaceted topic that requires a comprehensive and dynamic perspective. In this handbook, we aim to provide a comprehensive overview of the future of warfare, focusing on the trends, developments, and challenges that will shape the battlefield in the years to come.

The global security environment is characterized by volatility and uncertainty, raising timely and important questions about the future of humanity's oldest occupation: war. This volume addresses these questions through a collection of cutting-edge contributions by leading scholars in the field. Our overall focus is prognostic rather than futuristic, highlighting discernible trends, key developments, and themes without downplaying the lessons from the past. By making the past meet the present in order to envision the future, this handbook offers a diversified outlook on the future of warfare, which will be indispensable for researchers, students, and military practitioners alike.

The volume is divided into six thematic sections. Section I draws out general trends in the phenomenon of war and sketches the most significant developments, from the past to the present and into the future. Section II looks at the areas and domains which actively shape the future of warfare. Section III engages with the main theories and conceptions of warfare, capturing those attributes of contemporary conflicts which will most likely persist and determine the dynamics and directions of their transformations. The fourth section addresses differentiation and complexity in the domain of warfare, pointing to those factors which will exert a strong impact on the structure and properties of that domain. Section V focuses on technology as the principal trigger of changes and alterations in the essence of warfare. The final section draws on the general trends identified in Section I and sheds light on how those trends have manifested in specific local contexts. This section zooms in on particular geographies.

In conclusion, this handbook provides a valuable resource for anyone interested in understanding the future of warfare. By exploring the trends, developments, and challenges that will shape the battlefield in the years to come, we hope to contribute to a better understanding of the complex and dynamic nature of this critical field.

Weight: 1065g
Dimension: 246 x 174 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781032288901