Beyond-The-Box Thinking on Future War

The interaction of globalization and technology diffusion will impact warfare s diversity, affordability, and effectiveness. Moreover, the widening socio-economic gap, climate changes, human migrations, and resources competition, all increase the potential for the rise of interstate conflicts. Thus, an increasingly broader range of instruments and actors will cause the rebirth of war in other forms and arenas. Hence, given the tendency of the US to pursue the hi-tech approach to warfare and the effects of such future trend drivers, what strategy can a peer competitor develop to compensate for military inferiority to the US? The answer may lie on the concept of Unrestricted Warfare. This expansion beyond the military domain demands a shift of mindset to understand that warfare should be viewed as a holistic endeavor. Hence, the importance of a coherent integration of US s national security strategy. This involves a three step approach based on renewed strategic thought, the purposeful adaptation leading to a holistic-agency approach, and a people-centric perspective enhancing the education of the national security practitioners.