Conventional Military Threats
The nature of a conventional military threat is hard to define given that the former is in a constant process of change and development. Traditional conventional military threats date back to the ancient heroic times when large armies, representing nation states or smaller groups lined up on the battlefield, charged and conventionally shoot the enemy. The traditional military threat, accordingly came from a nation-state formation and it was directed at another equal one. Conventional military threats, however, can be best assessed through the articulation of military warfare which they correspond to. But nation-states rarely declare wars on one another nowadays. Military warfare has been evolving along with the evolution of nation states, reconstruction of international order and technological progress. After many centuries of evolution current international system experiences the fourth generation of warfare. The watershed feature which differentiates the fourth generation warfare from the previous ones is blurring of the lines between war and politics, combatants and civilians.Given that we live in the globalized and dynamic era, warfare becomes increasingly decentralized and states lose their monopoly on power. In absolute terms, the fourth generation of warfare signifies the reinforcement of Clausewitzian non-linearity of war. It also reinstates Clausewitz’s assumption that war is not autonomous, but an instrument or continuation of politics. Following Clauseqitz’s narrative, it is also valid to invoke Machiavelli’s suggestion about the constant connection between military power and society. Machiavelli believed that military power constitutes the foundation for any society. Furthermore, the military establishment mirrors the qualities and features of a civil society which it represents.
As we live in the globalized, dynamic and decentralized age the nature of conflict, threat and warfare changes. Because of the blurring lines between war and politics, combatants and civilians, the nature of conventional military threats becomes hard to reveal.
References:
Alan Beyerchen, Clausewitz, Nonlinearity, and the Unpredictability of War , (International Security, Vol. 17, No. 3, 1992), pp. 59-90
Lind, W., Nightengale, K., Schmitt, J., Sutton, J., & Wilson, G. The Changing Face of War: Into the Fourth Generation, The Marine Corps Gazette, 1989, October. pp. 22-26.
Nicollo Machiavelli,. The Art of War., (Da Capo Press, 2001), revised …
