9. The Changing Nature of Global Arm Conflict

After the demise of the Soviet Union, the world entered into a new era. In this new era where the United States has remained the only superpower in the globe, the unipolar trend was only challenged by emerging new threats such as global terrorism. The transition period was not a peaceful one since the newly established states in Eastern Europe and some failed states in Africa and the Middle East have seriously challenged security of the developed countries both in Europe and the Americas. On the other hand, some states in Africa and elsewhere had long lacked the colonial backing as a result of the decolonization process starting in the 1960s. After the end of the Cold War, some of these states were further left without support from either bloc. In this situation, many states have failed because of lacking political, economic, and authoritative capacity to meet their people’s needs, triggering intra-state wars rather than previous interstate wars. The most important threat for both domestic and international stability came from asymmetric warfare including terrorism. Among them, the 9/11 attacks marked a new period in which transnational terrorism changed the nature of armed conflict greatly, thanks to facilitating factors of globalization. In addition, advanced technology made conventional wars obsolete, triggering a revolution in military affairs.