NOTION OF WAR AND CONTEMPORARY WARS

Abstract

After a brief introduction, the author deals with the name, significance, and problem of defining war. He then goes on to question the division of wars into "old" and "new," pointing out the arguments in favor of the division defends, but also explaining that it is not sustainable. He opts for the term "contemporary wars" and briefly analyzes the basic features of these wars, such as the fact that there is a decreasing number of interstate wars and participating states; that non-state actors are increasingly emerging as parties to the conflict; that modern wars begin without a declaration of war; that the relationship between war and international law can be viewed on several levels; etc. Starting from the view that regardless of these peculiarities, contemporary wars are essentially nothing new, the author identifies the most important elements characteristic of each war and, combining them as a whole, defines war as by international law regulated sufficiently protracted organized struggle involving states or other entities of international law on one or all sides, which, through the use of weapons, inflict significant casualties and destruction on other such entities to pursue an important political, economic or other interest. Although the author immediately acknowledges the imperfection of this definition, he points out the hope that this definition can be useful in most cases, and then explains and critically analyzes the parts that make it up.