Reduced Number of Wars
The most important and striking trend in the change in the practice of warfare in the world is that the number of armed conflicts has significantly decreased. The most famous confrontation of the twentieth century after the Second World War is the Cold War, the essence of which is to aggravate the claims of the two states to each other (Schoppa, 2021). However, the key feature of this phenomenon is the non-use of weapons and the non-expression of direct aggression on the part of the USSR and the USA. On the contrary, other methods were used, particularly information confrontation (Hutchinson, 2021). This was possible primarily with the advent of new technologies that allow for more humane processes (Hutchinson, 2021). It was this period that showed that the protection of interests and society is possible not with the help of murders and mass destruction but with knowledge, awareness, and advances in technology.
However, it is worth noting that armed conflicts continued but on a much smaller scale. Firstly, there is a lack of such wars, which involve a large number of countries and people, as well as the world economy. The situation of the warring parties has changed since the model of invaders and defenders was previously practiced (Schumacher et al., 2019). By the end of the 20th century, the meaning of armed conflicts became the protection of the borders of states, the fight against terrorism and illegal power, and trying to subdue certain states (Schumacher et al., 2019). Countries such as the USA, Russia, or Great Britain did not aim to capture or create overlords in weak countries but, on the contrary, sought to maintain sovereignty (Jevglevskaja, 2021). This led to the fact that the focus of armed conflicts shifted from the territory of the European Union to Asia and Africa.
Changes in Regional Distribution
After redistributing the world and subordinating Europe became impossible for any rulers, the provincial wars ended, and order reigned in the European Union. Meanwhile, conflicts and contradictions in the countries of the Middle East, caused by the peculiarities of the region, developed especially quickly. First of all, this was facilitated by disagreements in the ranks of Muslims, who are divided into several predominant groups (Oh, 2021). The region is characterized by a poor economy, prejudice against women, and weakened social institutions. All of the above facts led to the emergence of several terrorist groups. These organizations use extremely harsh methods to implement their plans, and the danger goes beyond the region (Oh, 2021). This served as a pretext for the intervention of countries with strong economies and large armies, such as the United States.
The key task of such military interventions was the liberation of the states from the illegitimate government and dangerous groups. The experience of the Second World War showed that the world community needed to intervene in advance to avoid serious and catastrophic consequences. It is worth emphasizing that no state is capable of making decisions on military operations on the territory of another country on its own (Schumacher et al., 2019). This is done through the approval of actions by other countries at meetings of the United Nations (Hashim, 2018). Thus, armed conflicts on the territory of the Middle East are a necessity for all countries since local political changes are a danger beyond the scope of hostilities (Schumacher et al., 2019). Proof of this is the terrorist acts committed at different times in the United States, Russia, Chechnya, and France (Hashim, 2018). The creators and managers of these cruel and inhumane measures were groups such as Al-Qaeda, ISIS and the Taliban, which are the sources of wars in the Asian region.
Africa is one of the most unstable regions of the world, where military conflicts continue for many decades, and new ones break out. Wars in Africa have complex causes, combining socio-political, economic, national-ethnic, territorial and ideological differences. Many conflicts are local and have a historical background. Since 1960, when the majority of countries on the continent gained independence, more than a third of them have experienced armed clashes. In the 90s of the last century, hostilities were conducted on the territory of more than 15 African states (Schumacher et al., 2019). These events occurred as a result of a systemic crisis in a number of Arab states – political, economic, social, and ideological, which has been developing over the past decades (Li, 2018). At the same time, at the current stage of geopolitical restructuring, there is no need to talk about any trends in increasing the level of regional security. Moreover, in the context of the growing rivalry between the US and China for global dominance, there is a high probability of growing conflicts in resource-rich African states associated with the redistribution of spheres of influence (Li, 2018). This is facilitated by a number of factors, among which the difficult economic situation of African countries, as well as their limited financial capabilities, should be specially noted.
Military Innovations
Finally, another key change in the practice of warfare is the introduction of innovations in this area. First of all, technologies are aimed at increasing the security of states, which is expressed in the presence of deterrent or preventive weapons. First of all, these are nuclear bombs, which have a large radius of destruction and severe consequences of their launch. The presence of this tool does not allow attacking the country and provides it with military untouchability (Rosen, 2018). In addition, weapons and vehicles are being modernized, and in all states, which deters acts of direct aggression. Instead of attacking and destroying, military managers are forced to develop defensive elements in order to keep up in the security sphere (Hagler and Baker, 2018). Structures of the US government finance fundamental and applied research, as a rule, on a non-refundable basis. Thus, the development of technology and support for innovation is a matter of public interest.
Reference List
Hagler, G. and Baker, L. R. (2018) The evolution of military technology. New York: Rosen Publishing Group, Limited.
Hashim, A. (2018) The Caliphate at war. The ideological, organizational and military innovations of Islamic state. London: Hurst.
Hutchinson, E. O. (2021) How World War II changed America. New York: Middle Passage Press.
Jevglevskaja, N. (2021) International law and weapons review. Emerging military technology under the law of armed conflict. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Li, X. (2018) The Cold War in East Asia. Oxfordshire: Taylor & Francis Group.
Oh, I. (Ed.). (2021) East Asia in transition. Democracy, diaspora, and the new culture war. Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars Publisher.
Rosen, S. P. (2018) Winning the next war. Innovation and the modern military. New York: Cornell University Press.
Schoppa, K. R. (2021) The twentieth century. A world history. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Schumacher, D., Vickers, E., and Frost, M. R. (Eds.). (2019) Remembering Asia’s World War Two. Oxfordshire: Taylor & Francis.