Chapter

Classification in future conflicts

Michael N. Schmitt

International law and the classification of conflict

Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2012

p. 455-477

English

This chapter examines the legal issue of classification of conflict in light of one vision of future warfare, that of the United Kingdom. It seeks to pinpoint those aspects of future conflict that are most likely to pose challenges for those charged with classifying a particular conflict. Three occupy center stage: cyber warfare, transnational terrorisme and the complexity of the battlespace. Anticipation of such challenges will surely enhance the quality of legal input into strategic decision-making. Since the relationship between war and law is synergistic, the chapter concludes by highlighting likely normative trends in classification which may influence conflict.

• International law and the classification of conflicts / ed. by Elizabeth Wilmshurst ; Steven Haines... [et al.]