ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at the question of what postmodern theory might have to say about 'postmodern warfare' and other violent intrastate conflicts. It attempts a preliminary analysis of the phenomenon of war through a comparison of three types of war, one of which is 'modern', the other distinctly postmodern, and the third a hybrid combining archaic with modern and postmodern features. The postmodern military men, according to these conceptions, are not so much fighters as protectors, peacekeepers and technicians; usually professionals rather than conscripts; and a very large proportion of them are not actually soldiers but civilians. Most countries have thus relied on conscription based on universal compulsory military service. The even darker side of postmodern weaponry is that its lethality is undiminished, while its production costs are falling, making them available in meaningful quantities to both minor military powers and to non-state warring parties.
