An Era of Persistent Conflict?

Abstract

Will the remainder of the first quarter of the 21st century be an era of persistent conflict for the United States? As the nation debates actions to take in response to the national debt crisis, the answer to this question will be fundamental in shaping military capabilities, defense budgets, and our national security. This paper explores whether existing theories of war support the assumption of persistent conflict. Three theorists are used as the basis for analyses and conclusions: Geoffrey Blainey, Stephen Van Evera, and Bernard Brodie. The paper examines the current operating environment and, using the work of the aforementioned theorists, tests the assumption of persistent conflict. The paper identifies the primary factors driving persistent conflict. These factors constitute areas in which the U.S. government should focus all of the elements of power to prevent what appears to be the inevitability of war.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 14, 2011
Accession Number
ADA560155

Entities

People

  • William R. Gable

Organizations

  • United States Army War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Counter WMD
  • Cyber
  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Asymmetric Warfare
  • Economics
  • Education
  • Environment
  • Globalization
  • Governments
  • International Organizations
  • International Security
  • Military Capabilities
  • National Security
  • New York
  • Nuclear Weapons
  • Security
  • Terrorism
  • Terrorists
  • United States
  • War Colleges

Readers

  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.
  • Strategic Security Studies