The dilemma of moralism and human security considerations in the new wars

Abstract

The conflicts of the twenty-first century unfold on the phenomenon of the emerging “new wars” which is founded on the basic idea that both state and non-state actors are increasingly involved in shifting the war expenditures to proxies / surrogates, be they human beings or technological and technical implements, for the purpose of reducing the costs of War on the one hand, and on the other hand to evade the moral and legal burdens imposed by the international system on the issue of war. This study addresses the dilemma brought about by the contemporary international actuality, whose features have been outlined by the huge technological developments, and their impacts on the nature of new wars and which are in quest of human and technological surrogates that many would deem more appropriate to the prevailing reality to achieve the strategic goals of countries within a new operational and tactical environment. While this actuality rebuts the mainly fragile global legal system and deepens its application controversies. Thus, this paper investigates the angles and points through which the new fighting patterns are likely to contradict traditional (moral) legal principles