The Evolution of the Trinity: A 21st Century Hybrid War Theory

Abstract

The hybrid theory of war set forth in this document is the result of combining the best aspects of existing war theories with the unique influences of the current strategic environment to produce a refined theory of war for the modern international arena. The foundation of all war theories stems from four basic questions: What is war? Why and by whom are wars fought? What constitutes the nature, character and characteristics of war? How are wars won? This composition attempts to derive new answers to these questions through a careful analysis of classical and modern theorists alike, as measured against the harsh critique of history. The answers to these critical questions along with a dynamic evolution of Clausewitz s remarkable trinity form the greater concept of a hybrid theory of war, providing a more congruous application of ends, ways and means to 21st century warfare. While many of the examples used in this document correlate directly to U.S. interests, any state, nation, or party capable of war should find the immutable nature of these fundamental concepts intuitively relevant.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 22, 2011
Accession Number
ADA553051

Entities

People

  • James F. Harp

Organizations

  • United States Army War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • C4I
  • Counter WMD
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aircrafts
  • Chemical Reactions
  • Combustion
  • Conventional Warfare
  • Department Of Defense
  • Economic Systems
  • Education
  • Employment
  • Governments
  • Military Strategy
  • National Security
  • New York
  • Students
  • Terrorism
  • United States
  • Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
  • War Colleges

Readers

  • Military History / Militaries and War Studies
  • Strategic Security Studies
  • Theoretical Analysis.