War Transformed: The Future of Twenty-First-Century Great Power Competition and Conflict

Summary

War Transformed: The Future of Twenty-First-Century Great Power Competition and Conflict provides insights for those involved in the design of military strategy, and the forces that must execute that strategy. Emphasizing the impacts of technology, new era strategic competition, demography, and climate change, Mick Ryan uses historical and contemporary anecdotes to highlight key challenges faced by nations in a new era of great power rivalry. Just as previous industrial revolutions have advanced societies, the nascent fourth industrial revolution will have a similar impact on how humans fight, compete, and build military power in the twenty-first century.

War Transformed seeks to provide a preview of the shape of war and competition in the twenty-first century. Ryan examines both the shifting character of war and its enduring nature. He proposes important trends in warfare that will shape all aspects of human competition and conflict in the coming decades.

Competing and engaging in combat in this new era involves evolved strategies and warfighting concepts. As the competitive environment and potential battlefields continue to change, conceptions of combat, competition, and conflict must also evolve. Mick Ryan makes the case for transforming how Western military institutions view war in this century.