The Intelligence from The Economist

New world of warcraft: how conflict has forever changed

29 min

The podcast discusses how war has fundamentally changed over the past eight years, with conflicts becoming more technologically driven and lethal. Shashank Joshi, The Economist's defense editor, explains that battlefields are now transparent due to drones and precision munitions, while the laws of war are being eroded and war feels more palpable globally. The episode also profiles the late congressman Barney Frank, highlighting his work on LGBT rights and financial reform with the Dodd-Frank Act.

Summarized by Podsumo

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✨ Key Takeaways

1

War has become more visible and intimate, with technologies like drones creating transparent battlefields where soldiers are constantly watched and targeted.
2

The number of active state-based conflicts reached 61 in 2024, the highest since records began in 1946, signaling a global resurgence of war.
3

The laws of war are being eroded, with examples including collective punishment threats and attacks on civilians, raising ethical concerns among military professionals and lawyers.
4

Armies are adopting hybrid forces, combining expensive legacy equipment with drones and unmanned systems to adapt to modern battlefields.
5

War feels closer to home for Western societies, with incidents like ballistic missile attacks in Turkey and drone incursions into Poland highlighting the shift from distant conflicts to near-border threats.

💬 Notable Quotes

"The soldier therefore turns to the wars of others, past and present, to discern the future. For after all allowances have been made for historical differences, wars still resemble each other more than they resemble any other human activity."
"If you look at the Uppsala conflict data program, a monitoring group, recorded 61 active state-based conflicts in 2024. That was the highest level since records began in 1946."
"We have seen a succession of battlefields in which the impact of technology has become really clear. That technology didn't appear on those battlefields; it was evolving for years before, but wars are always clarifying moments."