Volume 34 (2016), Edition 2

Symmetric warfare as typical mode of the modern way of war by states of the global North has entered a different phase: now we are seeing postmodern warfare, which is understood as irregular warfare applied by states in a postmodern way and...

In recent debates, war is often referred to as a “chameleon“. This Clausewitzian metaphor, when related to hybrid war, reveals, however, the difficulties of any effort to tame this animal. The hybrid chameleon appears to adopt several colours...

One of the main problems with ethical considerations on warfare is that ethics itself is often used as weapon in conflicts. Another problem is that the traditional distinction between a state of war and a state of peace increasingly loses its punch....

With the takeover of Crimea by masked Russian soldiers without national insignia in February/March 2014, with the Kremlin at first denying its involvement, war became „hybrid“ in our minds. The follow-on conflict in eastern Ukraine further...

This article outlines the debates on NATO’s hybrid warfare, contextualizes them with regard to the development of the Alliance, and seeks to evaluate the arguments surrounding this topic. Applying the triad of „prepare-deter-defend“, NATO...

Clausewitz’s concept of the „wondrous trinity“ understands war essentially as a hybrid form. The hybrid character of war is caused by the instrumental rationality of war as a tool of governments on the one side and its existential dimension on...

This paper provides an analysis of the sources of authority that the Islamic State employs locally and globally in order to further the establishment of a worldwide caliphate. To allow for a more comprehensive understanding of the propositions the...

Modern societies that depend on the functions of critical infrastructures are easily threatened by hybrid phenomena, which are a combination of conventional and asymmetric means of warfare. The issue of hybrid threats is challenging modern societies...

Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945) was a member of the famous military resistance group against the Nazi regime of July, 20th, 1944; he was killed by the SS in KZ Flossenbürg. He saw the signs of the times, he stood up against racism and oppression,...

The wider conflict between Russia and the West over Ukraine has triggered a revival of Cold War-style policies in both the political and military realms. Remembering the famous 1963 speech by Egon Bahr on “Change through Rapprochement” a number...