Georgetown University Press Surrogate Warfare: The Transformation of War in the Twenty-First Century

Review This is a conceptually innovative and important account of how wars involving state and non-state actor adversaries are increasingly being waged by the outsourcing of their strategic, operational and tactical responsibilities of warfare to human and technological surrogates, as explained in the book's back cover, "to minimize the costs of war."-- "Perspectives on Terrorism"This task is left to research further into contemporary wars, for which Surrogate Warfare provides a highly relevant and useful conceptual lens by exploring the causes, dynamics and consequences of the outsourcing of the costs of war to human or technological substitutes as a key dynamic of wars in the twenty-first century.-- "International Affairs"[Andreas Krieg and Jean-Marc Rickli] argue for an expanded concept of surrogate war that includes forms of technological surrogacy such as cyber warfare and autonomous weapons. War, they argue, has moved 'into the cyber and media domains'.-- "London Review of Books"While Surrogate Warfare offers a wealth of history, theory, and novel thought about the nature of surrogates and their evolving technological dimensions in war, it is the near- and long-term engagement with near-peer competitors in the wake of the coronavirus that serves as a catalyst to recommend this book to the joint force.-- "Joint Forces Quarterly"At a time when increasing levels of "security force assistance" and "partner capacity building" are defining Western engagement with states around the globe, this book is an important reminder of the opportunities and threats posed by outsourcing war to others.-- "Political Science Quarterly"In Surrogate Warfare, Andreas Krieg and Jean-Marc Rickli offer a welcome discussion of the phenomenon of nation states farming out military and security responsibilities to 'surrogates.'-- "Michigan War Studies Review"Surrogate Warfare offers fresh perspectives about contemporary warfare with analysis ontechnology, ethics, and the current geostrategic environment.-- "Terrorism and Political Violence"This work is ... a stimulating essay, offering a real debate on what war is today, especially around the ethical and legal issues linked to technological revolutions, in progress and to come.Clausewitz wrote that war is coercive in nature though throughout history coercion has taken many forms. This principle is more real today than ever thanks to the ability of states to contract out operations to partners or surrogates both animate and inanimate. Though not a new departure this development has taken on a new reality in a globalised and technologically vulnerable world. With remarkable erudition and insight this study represents a bold and original contribution to the field of security studies.--Christopher Coker, Professor of International Relations, Director of LSE IDEAS, London School of EconomicsThis important book captures and conceptualises a phenomenon that has been increasingly pronounced in contemporary warfare. States increasingly look to others - surrogates - to carry the risks of warfare rather than put their own forces in harm's way. These can be private companies, rebel militias, other governments, or autonomous vehicles. But can they do this and keep control of the conduct of a conflict and ensure that other agendas don't take priority over their interests?--Lawrence Freedman, Emeritus Professor of War Studies, King's College London Product Description This book explores the emerging phenomenon of "surrogate warfare" in twenty-first century conflict. The popular notion of war is that it is fought en masse by one military versus the other state's military. But the reality today is that both state and non-state actors are increasingly looking to shift the burdens of war to surrogates. Surrogate warfare describes a patron's outsourcing of the strategic, operational, or tactical burdens of warfare, in whole or in part, to human and/or technological substitutes in order to minimize the cost