| Have globalization, nationalism and internationally operating insurgencies changed the nature of war? If so, what does this change mean for the law of armed conflict? Analyses of war as driven by political considerations, formulated most notably by Clausewitz in the 19th century, have received strong criticism recently. Critics claim that Clausewitz's trinitarian analysis of war cannot properly explain conflicts like those in sub-Saharan Africa and the Balkans, or the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Therefore, the critics claim that the law of armed conflict, based on this analysis of war, is inapplicable to the types of conflict occurring today. My thesis evaluates this criticism through not only a careful reading of both Clausewitz's theory and the objection itself, but also by reviewing the history of modern warfare and the development of the laws of armed conflict. |
