International Institutions - New and Old Wars

Mary Kaldor - New and Old Wars New type of organised violence developed - globalised era New wars involve a blurring of the distinction between war, organised crime and large-scale violations of human rights New wars = internal/civil wars, or 'low-intensity conflicts' Wars localised but involve a myriad of transnational connections Distinction between internal and external, between aggression, between local and global are difficult to sustain GUERRILLA WARFARE, ISIS Some describe new wars as privatised or informal wars Distinction between what is private and what is public, state and non-state, informal and formal, what is done for economic and what for political motives, cannot be easily applied VIRTUAL WARS, CYBER-SPACE Martin Shaw - 'degenerate warfare' John Mueller - 'remnants of war' Frank Hoffman - 'hybrid wars' Old wars have declined and has left banditry often disguised as political conflict Growing illegitimacy - need for cosmopolitan political response Globalisation been a reason for changes that characterise the contemporary period and have influenced the character of war Modern war more precise and discriminate - advances in technology Reproduce the appearance of classical war - front lines/aerial bombing New wars reflect a power vacuum because of the transition period after the cold war Global presence in new wars - reporters, mercenary troops, military advisors, armies of international agencies Erosion of the monopoly of legitimate organised violence War in Bosnia-Herzegovina - became the focus of global and European attention during the 1990s New wars can be contrasted in terms of their goals, the methods of warfare and how they are financed New wars have changed in organisational terms, they are highly decentralised and they operate through a mixture of confrontation and cooperation