Chehtman: Asymmetrical Warfare

Alejandro Chehtman (Universidad Torcuato Di Tella - Law) has posted Asymmetrical Warfare (in The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Peace and Conflict Studies, O. Richmond & G. Visoka eds., forthcoming). Here's the abstract:

Although asymmetrical warfare has been part non-conventional warfare for much of human history, it has become a prevailing form of warfare in recent times. This entry argues that this form of warfare is characterized, first and foremost, by significant material asymmetries between belligerents, both in terms of number of troops and, most significantly in terms of the vast technological differences between belligerents. Yet this type of conflict is also characterized by four additional, albeit related asymmetries, namely, asymmetrical strategies, asymmetrical status, asymmetrical moral standing, and asymmetrical weapons systems. These features have further entailed that this type of conflict blurs the traditional borders separating war from peacetime, as well as combatants from civilians, and even traditional geographical borders. Finally, this entry maps many of the deep legal, ethical and strategic challenges that asymmetrical warfare creates.