How Is War Different Today Than In The Past?

To begin it is perhaps necessary to define the term war. It is described by von Clausewitz as “an act of violence intended to compel our opponent to fulfil our will.” (von Clausewitz, 2006, p. 141) This historical quote describes how war can be an act of violence that causes others to conform to ideas encouraged by another. To further enhance the definition, it can be seen that war must include two or more states or non-state actors and a substantial amount of deaths must occur to define war. War has occurred for as long as can be remembered, whether it be a small conflict to a world war. The following study will discuss examples of how war is different today than in the past, but also discuss how it has remained the same, and will then come to a conclusion on whether war is different today than in the past. The study will refer to the Syrian Civil War to illustrate the arguments presented.
War today is still the same concept; two or more groups or countries in conflict. These conflicts can occur between groups or countries on the opposite side of the world, or in the form of a civil war within a country. Here we can look at the Syrian Civil War to illustrate this argument as this war taking place within Syria is being fought between many different countries as others have tried to intervene. This example can be compared to World War One where countries joined the war to support their allies. These historical and contemporary examples give the impression that it takes two or more countries in order for a war to begin reflecting the definition, which proves that war is the same today as it was in the