We recognize that there are differing opinions on how war has changed since the Cold War. Contrary to what we have stated before, one might argue that the Cold War and current conflicts are not fundamentally different because insurgencies and counterinsurgency efforts began during the Cold War and have continued into 4th generation warfare. Insurgent warfare was formed by Mao Tse-Tung in 1937 (Elias 10). Mao laid out three phases to insurgent war. The first phase is “organization, consolidation, and preservation” (Griffith 21). In this phase, insurgents concentrate on recruiting and organizing. In the next phase is where the insurgents engage in guerrilla warfare. Finally, the third phase is centered around the destruction of the enemy. In the third phase insurgents seek to destroy their adversary’s will to continue to fight and seek to better their own position in the war. U.S. soldiers were faced with these same tactics during the Vietnam War and The Afghanistan and Iraq War Because of these similarities, we recognize the Cold War and Post-Cold War periods may be considered to be fundamentally the same.

The United States’ war against the Viet Cong was a 4th generation warfare in which the U.S. was the more technologically advanced state fighting against the Viet Cong insurgents. The U.S. had the tools and technology to fight a 3rd generation war focused on attacking the enemy through conventional war. The Viet Cong, on the other hand, did not. They used everyday materials to fight against as well as weapons stolen from the U.S. adhering to Mao’s ideology that “the enemy is the principal source of weapons, equipment and ammunition” (Griffith 24) . An example of a low-tech weapon used by the Viet Cong is feces covered sticks that, when stepped on, gave the soldier diseases (Elias 9). The unconventional nature of  the Vietnam war repeats itself in the war in Afghanistan and Iraq. To counter their lack of technology, Viet Cong insurgents sought to destroy the political will of the United States, because only then would they be able to defeat their more advanced opponent (Mack 179).  

The asymmetrical war seen in Vietnam bears resemblance to the Afghanistan and Iraqi 4th generation warfare fought against the United States. All three wars are driven by the political will of the counterinsurgent’s efforts. The moment U.S. domestic support wavered in the Vietnam war was when the Viet Cong won (though an end to the war was never officially declared). Despite losing the war, the U.S. government did not grant its soldiers more supplies, and instead, insisted they returned home (Mack 180). In 4th generation wars, insurgents are able to destroy their adversary’s political will through their ability to hide in plain sight and use “their superior knowledge of [their] terrain” to their advantage (Griffith 23). These similarities are striking, but the nature of wars has changed tremendously to continue to be considered fundamentally the same. 

Despite similarities in 4th generation warfare, technological advances have changed the face of war in the modern era. In 4th generation warfare, commonly referred to as forever wars, drones make gathering intelligence and targeted killings more accessible for more technologically advanced states such as the U.S. Intelligence is the most important aspect of 4th generation warfare, therefore reinventing the way intelligence is gathered will change the face of war. The inclusion of drones also forces insurgents into hiding and are able to hit physical targets, minimizing soldiers on the ground and time spent looking for insurgents (Carvin 532). Technological advances have transferred war into a digital stage. 

Cyber warfare happens in the realm of cyberspace where “information is stored, shared, and communicated” in a network of computers (Singer 2014). With drones, its operators are not required to travel to the area they are fighting, and with cyber warfare, assailants can issue attacks from the comforts of their homes. There have already been a number of attacks such as fake news that spread about the French President Emmanuel Macron. The previous attacks have sought to undermine and divide democratic institutions through the spread of misinformation (Polyakova 3). Technological advances ushered in a new method to engage in warfare that does not require expensive conventional weapons. More information on recent cyber warfare attacks is located on our current events tab.