Today the world is witnessing a paradigm shift in the nature of conflict. This reality has forced a global shift on focusing effort and resources from known and conventional threats to understanding and encountering newer forms of sub-conventional threats - ranging from intra-state conflicts to growing local and international terrorism. A key challenge that confronts policy and decision makers relates to meeting these threats collectively, but without compromising on individual national interests.

This book examines the factors influencing the changing nature and character of conflict to arrive at a clear perspective about its emerging contours in a comprehensive manner. It seeks to make a strong contribution to enhancing the understanding of both - strategic and operational level steps necessary to come to grips with sub-conventional conflict and to transform the military, other security forces and political decision-making machinery to combat emerging threats, challenges and vulnerabilities. This book will be very helpful in understanding the dimensions, complexity and nature of military force in this era of emerging and unknown enemies and threats, besides appreciating the critical role that it will play in containing or combating them.

About the author:
Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (Retd) commanded an infantry brigade on the Line of Control (Operation Parakram, 2001-03) and an artillery regiment in counter-insurgency operations in Kashmir Valley (Operation Rakshak, 1993-94). Formerly Director, Security Studies, Observer Research Foundation; Senior Fellow, IDSA; and Senior Fellow, Centre for Air Power Studies; he is currently Director, Centre for Land Warfare Studies, New Delhi. Brig Kanwal has authored several books, including Nuclear Defence: Shaping the Arsenal; Indian Army: Vision 2020; Pakistan's Proxy War; Heroes of Kargil; Kargil '99; Blood, Guts and Firepower and Artillery: Honour and Glory and writes on security issues for leading national newspapers.
Samarjit Ghosh is Associate Fellow and Deputy Editor at the Centre for Land Warfare Studies, New Delhi. In 2010, he was Bagri Fellow at the Asia Research Centre of the London School of Economics and Political Science. His research interests include post-modern conceptions of warfare and the future character of conflict; politico-military developments in the Islamic Republics of Afghanistan and Pakistan and the participation of the international community in it. He is the author of Fourth Generation Warfare: Retrospect and Prospect (forthcoming) and is currently working on Counterinsurgency Operations: Lessons from Afghanistan. He holds degrees in political science, and defence and strategic studies.