It will be just like playing COD!

As an internationalist, it is with a sense of envy and confusion that I look upon those who are so proud of their country. It must be quite comforting to know that the nation is an unwavering part of your identity. But then again how limiting it is to not go beyond borders, as some forms of culture and finance have done so successfully.

This is why I do not take much interest in military affairs as it compounds the power of the nation state despite those alliances and regimes people attach a lot of importance to - e.g. the UN or NATO. But take the nation-state out of war for a second, the picture looks to me a little more interesting.

Cyber security
Protecting information and computer systems around the world has become paramount to national security across the world. Since the first proper 'cyber-war' in Estonia in 1997, attacks on government data systems have become more commonplace and threatening in the future. This may not be war as such, but it is one of the striking examples of how warfare is changing.

Drones/robots
Robots will be increasingly sophisticated in the space of our own lifetimes. Although drones are slightly different, it raises many ethical questions about the 'dehumanization' of war. Can an army officer remotely controlling a drone be directly responsible for those innocently killed by a drone they were controlling? To them, they are looking at a screen and pressing the red button to fire their weapons. Not dissimilar to a computer game I suspect. Perhaps there is too much psychological damage from infantry using bayonets in close-combat - such drones would save them from the emotional scars of physically having to kill another.

Private contractors
Possibly one of the most controversial areas of warfare is the hiring of private contractors for different kinds of military and security operations. I wonder if Reagan and Thatcher envisaged this development when they talked of de-regulation... But nevertheless, the traditional sphere of national governments have been replaced in some quarters by private security firms. By winning lucrative government contracts, private security firms have grown considerably in the last decade. Whether their operations have been properly regulated or controlled is another matter altogether. One can only take a quick glance at the Blackwater security firm changing its name to Xe; a great piece of re-branding to wash over scandals.

The developments above mainly concern developed states and do not apply much to war-torn states with less sophisticated means of military conflict. Child soldiers and guerilla warfare are the name of the game in some regions.

But even with this discrepancy between the means available to developed and broken states, it is hard to 'win' a war. It was perhaps bizarre for some to conclude when discussing the Pacific War that Japan were actually the real winners due to its economic transformation after the war. Equally, the real winners of current conflicts may change just as history is re-written in different ways.