On August 27, at 11:00, the Valdai Discussion Club hosted a presentation of the Club’s new analytical report titled “The Future of War”.
The topic of future wars has become timely due to the return of great-power rivalry, intensive “proxy wars”, and the development of qualitatively new technologies. While the socio-political element of war remains unchanged, transformations at the technological, political, and economic levels have had a direct impact on the nature, theory, and practice of warfare. The present report analyses the phenomenon of war in an era which has witnessed the emergence of a new technological order and the role of technology in shaping the future of war.
The authors of the report put forward their own concept of the “spiral-cyclic evolution” of war. According to them, it aims to provide a clearer picture of the close ties between technologies, strategies, and decision-making, as well as increase our ability to make accurate predictions about future military conflicts.
The report particularly emphasizes three types of future warfare — kinetic, cognitive, and cyber — which are most likely to serve as the basis of future interstate conflicts.
Speakers:
Maxim Suchkov, Senior Research Fellow, Center for International Processes Analysis, Moscow State Institute of International Relations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Associate Professor, Department of Applied Analysis of International Problems, MGIMO
Sim Tack, Co-founder and chief military analyst at Force Analysis (via videolink)
Moderator: