What are the Trends in Armed Conflicts, and What Do They Mean for U.S. Defense Policy

Abstract

As the U.S. national military strategy (Joint Chiefs of Staff, 2015) recognizes, the current global security environment is highly unpredictable, leading the United States to face "simultaneous security challenges from traditional state actors and transregional networks of sub-state groups - all taking advantage of rapid technological change." These security challenges reflect a variety of factors - for example, a highly interconnected and interdependent global economy, the unprecedented stress on the earths resources created by population growth, the creation of new and highly fragile sovereign states, and the rapid rise of emerging powers outside the Euro-Atlantic sphere. Some believe that these security challenges have, in turn, increased the potential for armed conflicts to emerge - a potential that seems borne out by conflict in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Ukraine, Yemen, Libya, and elsewhere.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2017
Accession Number
AD1085592

Entities

People

  • Angela O'Mahony
  • Bryan A. Frederick
  • Jennifer Kavanagh
  • Stephen Watts
  • Thomas S. Szayna

Organizations

  • RAND Corporation

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Engineered Resilient Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Asymmetric Warfare
  • Civil War
  • Cold War
  • Corporations
  • Governments
  • Intellectual Property
  • International Conflicts
  • International Organizations
  • Military Strategy
  • National Security
  • Political Science
  • Public Policy
  • Security
  • Social Sciences
  • Stress Tests
  • United States
  • Violence

Readers

  • Distributed Systems and Data Platform Development
  • Joint Military Operations and Doctrine.
  • Political Violence and Terrorism Studies.