Impact of Technology on Modern Warfare - Term Paper Example

Lama Al Saud INTL 3800 Vautravers The Impact of Technology on Modern Warfare The advancement in warfare can be traced back to the primitive societies that lived before the onset of civilization and the conflicts that existed between them. Tribal societies have never lived in long peaceful periods. The societies therefore advanced in technology as the superiority in warfare emerged a core factor in deciding and shaping the destiny of the world. The political and economic interactions between the current nations is based on the path it followed and the way it has been able to conquer other nations. The colonial era was defined by the way the European countries were able to use their advanced military power and weapons to overpower the countries that they colonized. The strong colonial powers were defined by how organized their military was and how well they were economically so that they could be able to fight their target society and push off the other countries who had same interests. Countries like the United Kingdom, Portugal, Germany, France and Netherlands whose civilization had taken part earlier were in a better position to conquer other nations and so they ended up having many countries under their rule. A good example of the rivalry that existed among the colonial masters was during the American Revolution when France supported America to emancipate itself from the harsh British rule that was imposing taxes on the citizens yet they were not being represented in the government. In the fight that ensued and later paved way for the formation of the United States of America, France served in providing military warfare to the Americans and also helping in planning of their forces against the highly planned British. The First World War served to open a new era where the world powers or the countries which took part in the war wanted to edge each other out and show their military prowess over the other countries. It shaped the new world in terms of politics and the colonial powers used to get military support from the countries that were under its rule to help in the fight. At the end of World War I many countries like Russia had suffered a lot in their economies and it took them a long time to recover. World war II was the summit of the advancement in warfare and a period when new world powers like the United States came up to show their massive wealth in military power. Though U.S. joined the war in the latter stages, the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki served to put an end to the war. The Second World War was followed by a period of cold war where the countries seemed dormant but much activity was going on behind the scenes. The peak of cold war emerged in the early 1990s by the break of the USSR into Russia and other smaller nations. The end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century have been marked by greater rivalry and more powerful weapons being used in all fields. The aspect of terrorism has also taken over as a result of this change. Keywords: Modern warfare, World War II, Missiles, Drones, Nuclear power, Atomic Bombs. Introduction The nature of international politics and the world that we live today has been a result of the activities that have been going on mainly in the last century. The world warfare has been in the forefront in determining the allies a country has which in turn plays a great role in international policy making. This essay will look at the role played by warfare and the new technological advancements in the field in shaping international politics, diplomacy, and administration. The major technological advancements include the use of Drones in aerial warfare, chemical warfare and precision guided missiles. There is a direct relationship between a country’s military power and the way it will relate with other countries. For instance, in the last century that was marred by war between nations and the famous World War I and World War II, the countries who were involved used their well-established military powers and advanced technology in warfare to edge out their enemies. World War I saw the use of chemical weapons being on the rise with Germany having the most established army that pushed Russia till it considered pulling out of the war. Since Russia could not match the economic status of Germany at the time, they really suffered and consequently led to the February Revolution that was held in early 1917 as the Nicholas-the Russian President at that time, was ousted from power by forces allied to Vladimir Lenin who was seeking Russia’s withdrawal from the war. The subsequent formation of USSR in 1922 was an aftermath of the uprising and the political effects of the war. After that and in World War II, U.S. rose as the new military hub and this pushed it to be among the world powers dreaded for its well-trained military and lethal special forces. Being a world power it was considered and its opinion sought in making of key decisions that involved other countries. The countries which have strong military and they are advanced in warfare are often stable economically and this boosts them in the international scene as they will be able to command other countries which need its assistance. Foreign Policies Before and During World War I The shaping of international politics before World War I was as a result of the external conflicts that existed between countries which wanted to establish themselves as world powers. European countries had better economies which were boosted by the resources they got from their colonies. The larger the number of colonies a country had, the more advantage it had over the other countries. International relations at the time were not as good as they are today. World War I erupted as a result of the soared relationships between the European countries that had pulled over the years. The political hostility had been witnessed for over forty years and it was obvious that an ugly scene was in the way coming. Militarism, which is the belief or the people’s desire to acquire or have a strong military which should be kept ready to suppress the neighbors was one of the main factors that led to the war (Townshend, 2000). Militarism as seen in the German political scene was characterized by the armed forces being active and pre-dominant in the administrative and policy making roles in the country. Majority of the European countries upheld the ideology and they made sure that their military was always ready for any conflict that was bound to erupt. This ideology shifted to the Asian and African countries after World War II where it was borrowed by countries like North Korea, Uganda, Nigeria, Chile, Venezuela, and Pakistan among others. International relations at that time were also characterized by the formation of alliances between countries which had similar interests or a common enemy. Liberal Internationalism that is enjoyed today has been the product of the many years where the international relations between countries were soared and which led to the trail of wars between the countries. The formation of empires and colonialism were some of the factors that hindered good relations to exist between the countries. At the time, the relatively developed European countries were busy maintaining their colonies and so they were less concerned about the way they related with other countries. How the Technological Prowess of Countries Shaped World War I World War I as indicated in the earlier chapter erupted after a series of diplomatic crisis of the world powers which included France, Germany, Britain, Italy Austria-Hungary and Russia-countries which had a relative advantage in terms of civilization. The countries having been civilized earlier and having been the sources of the agrarian and industrial revolution had stable economies and more power in terms of military. There were conflicts about borders in Europe and which country was to dominate and in the same period they were scrambling for colonies in the respective continents where they had them. The conflicts and the soaring of the diplomatic relations had left Europe with high tension and an impeding war being in the air (Michael p. 26). The onset of the World War was marked by the Bosnian Crisis where Russia felt humiliated for not being in a position to support Serbia in the war. This was a result of its poor military. Due to this fact, it embarked at preparing its military so that it could be better armed if a similar scenario occurred. In the same month, Germany announced that it would support Austria if a war erupted where it was supposed to fight for its position in international politics and in being a world power. What ensued was a period of warnings where Britain warned Germany that if it attacked France then it would have to bear the consequences. Russia was busy reconstructing its military at the moment to feature well if another war which seemed inevitable erupted. Wilhelm II in a meeting held on December 12 in Berlin made it clear that Austria was supposed to attack Serbia. He further specified that in the case that was most likely to happen where Russia would support Serbia then Germany would step into the war and support Austria to demolish the Serbs and the Russian. Germany was worried of Russia’s Military reconstruction and so it was opting of starting the fight at that time instead of waiting till when Russia was really armed and ready for the war. CAs a preventive measure, Germany tried to use diplomacy to prevent the impeding war. At the moment, Russia’s great military program was underway and Germany was almost sure that fighting against the alliance formed by France, Britain and Russia would just be too hard for its military and victory could not be achieved. 1913 saw the new French president Raymond Poincare improve the international relations between Germany and France and even dined at German embassy in Paris. France had a stable economy and a small population and its leaders had the belief that if it engaged into war with Germany it would emerge victorious. The events that followed each other in 1914 saw the starting of World War I. First Archduke Franz Ferdinand was killed by Serbian irredentists. Germany announced its support for Austria. Russia started preparing for the fight. Britain urges countries which had no direct interest in the war to bring peace into the region but it fails. On July 1914, Germany sends an ultimatum to Russia where it makes it clear that Russia should end it military preparations. In the following month, Germany declares war on France. In the same month Austria-Hungary declared war on Russia as Japan declares war on Austria-Hungary. Military Power in World War I World War I served to show the strength and failures in the various military and warfare among the countries that were involved. The weapons that were in use were not very sophisticated and aerial attacks were not used as in World War II. Many countries had invested much in military technology and they used World War I to edge each other out and see which country had the power to dominate over the others. The main features of the weapons used in World War I involved grenades, poison gas, use of submarines, warplanes and tanks though the war was mainly done on land advances. Britain dominated with their strong grenades which were later improved by the French to form the antiquated ball grenade (Townshend, 2000). Germany on the other hand used the impact-detonating discus bombs and the lethal M1913 black powder baller Kugel grenade. The countries had relatively similar weapons but the difference in military power was enough to determine who would emerge the victors and who were to fail (Fromkin p. 79-84). World War I led to economic constrains in many countries that were involved. This served to shaped the internal politics and determine which direction the country headed after the war. Russia was the one that was highly affected. The government under Nicholas II had used much of the government’s resources to sustain the army. By 1915, the signs of a retreating army could already be seen as there was no money to run the expedition. This later led to a chain of revolutions that ousted the president from power and Russia considered withdrawing from the fight. The damages done however took years to be recovered and hence made Russia to lag behind in the years between the World Wars. International Relations after World War I The activities that followed the First World War facilitated the starting of the Second World War. The Treaty of Versailles and Hitler were attributed as the main causes to the Second World War. The League of Nations had failed in ensuring that the countries which had engaged in World War I were peaceful and so the rivalry between them still existed. Hitler on the other hand came to power with clear goals. First he wanted to bring to an end the Treaty of Versailles. He also wanted to destroy communism and conquer all other nations (Townshend, 2000). Hitler was a German soldier during World War I. Since Germany had been made to pay reparations after signing the Versailles Treaty it became dissatisfied and so it wanted to fight back. In 1939, Hitler made a pact with Stalin where he allowed him to attack Poland. At this time Stalin did not trust Britain. The alliance he formed with Germany was solely because he did not trust that forming an alliance with Britain would see them through the war. International relations at this time had been soared. The League of Nations had failed to fulfil its mandate and it was evident that a war was coming. Stalin was happy though since he was able to acquire half of Poland without fighting for it. Now he could go and prepare his military to face Germany at a later date (Townshend, 2000). These activities propelled by the fact that Hitler was so determined to conquer other European nation and extend his empire made the war to start earlier than it had been thought. World War II saw a new era where the nations that were involved used sophisticated weapons which had the capacity to cause massive destruction of the opponent bases. Examples include the bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the United States in 1945 (W. W. Norton & Company Inc). Modern Warfare and the Second World War World War II served as the revolution in warfare from the ones that were being used in World War I to new weapons which had the capacity to cause massive destruction. Modern Warfare involves all the concepts, methods and the advancement in technology that was used widely during World War II and also in the years that followed. The concept of modern war is different from that of the earlier days. In the current state, opponents or enemies target the civilian and ensure that they inflict as much destruction and deaths as possible. When this is done, the country will either pull out of the way to prevent further damage or bow down to the enemies’ orders (Globalization 101. The invention of nuclear power carries with itself the ability to destroy the whole world within minutes and so to stop that from happening countries are very cautious and moderate in how they approach the situation. There are different forms of warfare that are applied in the current world in combating the enemies. Ground warfare has been through a number of changes through the years. In the modern times this can be classified into either infantry, artillery or armor. The most significant characteristics of infantry used in modern warfare are the airborne forces used in spying and destruction of enemy posts. Germany used airborne assaults to destroy Dutch military in the famous Dutch Invasion. During the Korean War, air attacks were widely used and caused massive destruction behind enemy lines. Mechanized infantry are the type of infantry that are equipped with infantry fighting vehicles which transport and attack the enemies. The weapons loaded may include fire support weapons such as machine guns and auto cannons. Larger weapons such as anti-tank guided missiles are also mounted on the infantry fighting vehicles and delivered to the area that needs to be attacked. Use of Intelligence in Modern Warfare Modern warfare involves intensive use of wits rather than meeting on the battle line and fighting for victory. Different military units have their specialized forces that gather intelligence and spy on their enemies to establish the new tactics that they are planning to use in their fights. This have overtaken the archaic fighting methods. The results of this is that different countries have piled different weapons which they feel are better than those of their enemies and the ones that are aimed at totally destroying the enemies if they decided to engage in fighting. Propaganda is a tool that is used in modern warfare either to avert attention or to conceal the truth about the real situation on the ground. The actions are aimed at influencing the opinions of large numbers of people in case you need to have their support. This has been widely used in cases of terrorism where the perpetrators want to bring out a picture of total destruction to show the world that they have succeeded in their mission. With the advancement in technology it is possible for a group of people to jam the signals used for popular media houses and then use them in delivering misleading information. This has been widely used in modern warfare where the groups involved want to achieve more than just the physical victory. Social media have increased and with forums such as Facebook, twitter and Instagram among others, it is possible to access the enemies’ accounts and post contradicting information that is aimed at splitting the enemy or causing confusion. Hacking of websites by counter and terror groups and accessing confidential information has been one of the characteristics of modern warfare. Use of the social forums has come under scrutiny especially with the question of the secrecy of some of the social sites. Modern Warfare: Weapons and Application The epitome of modern warfare is characterized by use of highly defined war tools such as the precision-guided missiles, use of chemical warfare and use of drones. This chapter will look deeply at their use and how they shape the destiny of the globe. Drones are unmanned combat vehicles that are loaded with missiles to destroy the target locations. Drones have been used in intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance operations. After the September, 2001 attacks in Washington and New York, American forces used drones to investigate the terrorist bases and evaluate on ways of curbing them. Drones have taken over the state of modern warfare as they can be guided to do whatever task one wants them to do. This has made it less risky and more efficient to gather information from enemy lines and using it against them. Drones are capable of being fit with specialized equipment which can support Signal Intelligence and Ground moving indicator collection. It is also fitted with Ground moving Target Indicator collection which in turn help military operations and gathering of information that would have been almost impossible to gather in the past. Drones have a number of advantages which make them ideal to be used in modern warfare. They are less risky as they are unmanned hence they can be sent up to the most risky regions or the enemy lines. Another advantage is that they are capable of extended endurance surveillance and they record full motion video twenty four hours a day. Through their real time situational awareness, they increase combat effectiveness and also their force protection which gives them a great advantage when used in fights. The drones are capable of having autonomous flights and also in delivering air to ground weapons with high precision. Other advantages or features that make it a weapon of the modern times include the convoy security, Signals Intelligence collection unit, Imagery intelligence and the ground moving target indicator, Communications Intelligence Support and Electronic Intelligence. The major disadvantage is the legal acceptability of the drones in the modern world as many legislations maybe against its use on their air and land. Chemical warfare has also been a characteristic feature of modern warfare. Chemical warfare differs from other modes adopted in warfare as they is barely any explosion or force in administration. This involves use of non-living toxic products which are produced by the organisms which are living. Due to the advancement in technology it is possible to produce these products synthetically and in large amounts to ensure that they get the amount they need to execute their mission. The products include toxins such as ricin and saxitoxin which have the capability of causing massive destruction to the human body once introduced in any way (Turitto). Precision guided missiles are missiles that are guided to hit a specific location. This has been applied to minimize the damage caused if the person using the missile is close when it explodes (Spinardi 2002). With precision guided missiles the exact location is hit and the neighborhood is left unhurt unlike in previous times when the collateral damage would be so much and much more would be destroyed (Hamilton 1995). Terrorism The international politics and policies have been shaped by the advancement in warfare. The countries which have advanced in an amicable way have ensured that they dominate over others that are still dwarfs in that field. The United States has found itself at the middle of a new security quagmire after the series of terrorist attacks aimed at it and its embassies. U.S. has been on the forefront to combat terrorism an act that has earned it more enemies than friends. Terrorists have acquired high precision weapons which they are using to execute their missions. The terror groups try to destabilize different legislations so that they can execute their dubious activities. The war on terrorism has taken a new stand after the killing of Osama bin Laden the leader of the famous terror group AL Qaeda. This led to renewed resistance from the supporters of the terror groups. Another act that has shaped international politics is the nation’s involvement in the affairs of other countries. Countries like the United States has been accused of interfering in the peace of other countries and causing havoc therefore not achieving the goal needed. Its activity in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Egypt have been highly questioned after ousting the presidents and leaving the countries in havoc. The rise in terror activities and formation of radical groups in these countries has been facilitated by the advancement in technology. Conclusion The changes observed in modern warfare have played a major role in shaping the international politics and relations. Modern warfare started in World War II and since that time great improvements have been witnessed and in the modern times the drones which are unmanned are able to gather intelligence and send videos which help the target location to be analyzed in the desired way. This has also minimized the risk involved in such exercises. Chemical warfare and the use of precision guided missiles have also changed modern warfare. These advancements have come with their trail of disadvantages. First, terrorism has been a result of the soared international relations caused by the conflicts and the suspicions created. The world is also at the risk of getting destroyed if the nuclear and atomic weapons that some countries have were to be used (Krepon p. 70-81). Looking at the world’s state today the advancement have been more of a calamity than a blessing. Cited Work Fayzullin, Rustam.What is the Importance of Information Technologies on Modern Warfare. 2010. Pp. 20-21. Web. Fromkin, David. Europe’s Last Summer: Who Started the Great War in 1914? New York, Kropf Press, 2004. Pp. 79-84. Globalization 101. Modern Warfare. n.d. Web. < http://www.globalization101.org/modern-warfare/> Hamilton, Richard. Precision Guided Munitions and the New Era of Warfare. Air Power Studies Centre, Royal Australian Air Force. 1995. Print. Michael, Howard. Europe on the Eve of the First World War, Outbreak of World War I. Edited, Holger, Herwig, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1997. pp. 26. Print. Krepon, Michael. Cooperative Threat Reduction, Missile Defence, and the Nuclear Future. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003. Print. Spinardi, Graham. From Polaris to Trident: The Development of US Fleet Ballistic Missile Technology. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2002. Print. Townshend, Charles. The Oxford History of Modern War. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2000, Print. Turitto, James. Understanding Warfare in the 21st Century: International Affairs Review. Oxford University Press, Winter 2010, XVIII(3). Web. W. W. Norton & Company Inc. Essentials of International Relations. n.d. Web. Read More