ABSTRACT
This conclusion presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book is designed to provide the foresight needed to prepare for the challenges and tasks posed by future international military operations. A key objective of the book is to develop a comprehensive set of generic parameters for analysing emerging tasks and requirements arising from the mission types. The analysis of the nine mission types against the five parameters offers a rich and unique source of understanding the future challenges confronting military forces in the twenty-first century. It then dicusses consent, the parameter deciding whether intervention is legitimate. The mandate, in turn, decides what Western forces can legally do in the name of international society. The final two parameters, conflict intensity and operational environment, determine what the intervention force encounters once deployed. NATO is the only international institution capable of undertaking a high-intensity campaign, largely thanks to its shared intellectual foundation.
