mercenaries and terrorists play an increasinglyimportant role. In the modern era, warfare came to play a crucial role in theformation of states, whereas the new wars emerging at the beginningof the 21st century have mostly gone together with the failure orcollapse of states. The author draws out the key shifts involved inthis process: from symmetrical conflicts between states toasymmetrical global relationships of force; from national armies toincreasingly private or commercial bands of warlords, childsoldiers and mercenaries; from pitched battles to protractedconflicts in which there is often little fighting and most of theviolence is directed against civilians. Changes in weaponstechnology have combined with complex economic factors to make theprospect of endlessly simmering wars a real danger in the years tocome.Against this background, the author outlines the rise of a novelform of international terrorism, conceived more as a politicalmethod of communication than as an element in a military strategy.The resulting challenges faced by Western governments, and thecosts and benefits associated with any response, are taken up in aconcluding section that contrasts the characteristic European andAmerican approaches and examines the implications for the future ofinternational law.

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