The Future of Warfare

Course Number: 84-405

Warfare is constantly evolving. In the contemporary conflict environment, the prospect of large-scale conflict between near-peer states is converging rapidly with proxy conflicts and threats typically posed by nonstate and/or irregular actors and tactics. Competition between the United States, Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea is increasingly playing out on the global strategic stage, while hybrid actors and proxy groups continue to wage war in an asymmetric and irregular manner that relies on ambiguity, strategic surprise, innovative uses of technology, and deception. These activities often occur within the so-called "gray zone," an area of neither declared nor undeclared hostilities where U.S. adversaries are gradually allocating resources. This course will examine and historically contextualize various "new" trends in warfare, including the weaponization of AI technologies, increasingly sophisticated cyber and information warfare operations, the development of violent non-state actors with conventional military capabilities, and state support of mercenary forces to achieve strategic gains without attribution.

Academic Year: 2024-2025
Semester(s): Fall
Required/Elective: Elective
Units: 9
Location(s): Pittsburgh