LIT3: Schuurman, Bart. (2010). “Clausewitz and the New War Scholars”. Parameters 40(1), pp.89-100.

Question 1

What is the new war school of thought?

Answer 1

civil wars or counterinsurgencies.

Question 2

What are the main diferences between the old school and new school of thought on war? Schuurman

Answer 2

Conventional military superiority has limited value in civil wars or counterinsurgencies.

Victory in such conflicts no longer rests on the ability to inflict massive destruction but on the ability to wrestle popular support away from one’s opponents, isolating the insurgent or the terrorist from the things he needs most.

Question 3

What is the Central Tenet of New Wars thinking and its relation to Clausewitz? Schuurman

Answer 3

the fundamental characteristics of war
are subject to change, making it possible for armed conflict to develop through several distinct phases.

This proposition stands in direct contradiction to the work of Carl von Clausewitz,
and it is therefore no surprise that new wars theorists have attempted to do away with the work of the Prussian strategist in order to validate their own findings.

However, instead of validating the new wars theory, Clausewitz in fact exposes its fundamental flaws

Question 4

What is the common misconception of New War thinkers with dismissing clausewitz?

Answer 4

As a result, critics conclude that since most modern wars are, in fact, waged by
nonstate actors, Clausewitz’s work has become obsolete and irrelevant. However, these critics miss the crucial point that Clausewitz describes war as
consisting of violence, chance, and rationality and that he connects these to the secondary trinity.

Question 5

Is Clausewitz stil usable in 2024?

Answer 5

the trinitarian concept of war has withstood the test of time, being as applicable now as it was
during the Napoleonic era

Clausewitz’s trinitarian concept permits for the study and comparison of all forms of warfare.