Conventional and Unconventional War: A History of Conflict in the Modern World

This volume offers a comprehensive history of warfare since 1648, covering conventional and unconventional operations and demonstrating how most modern wars have been hybrid affairs that involved both. The book uses a broad range of conflicts to explore the societal forces that have shaped wars.

• Provides an in-depth discussion of terrorism and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in the context of conventional and unconventional war

• Presents authoritative information and critical insights from the perspective of an acknowledged expert on military history, counterinsurgency, and terrorism

• Addresses the future of warfare, such as cyberwarfare and the use of drones, in the final chapter

• Explains how specific technological advances affected warfare, such as the invention of gunpowder and the resulting revolution, and how the development of nuclear weapons and the risk of nuclear holocaust led to a return to limited war during a period in which deterrence rather than victory became the goal of strategists