War 2.0

War 2.0 argues that two intimately connected trends are putting modern armies under huge pressure to adapt: the rise of insurgencies and the rise of the Web. Both in cyberspace and in warfare, a public dimension has assumed increasing importance in recent years.

The book traces the contrasting ways in which insurgents and counterinsurgents have adapted irregular conflict to new media platforms. It examines the public affairs policies of the U.S. land forces, the British Army, and the Israel Defense Forces. Then it compares the media-related counterinsurgency methods of these conventional armies to the more successful methods devised by their non-state adversaries, showing how such organizations as Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and Hezbollah use the Web not merely to advertise their political agenda and influence public opinion, but to mobilize a following and put insurgent operations into action. But the same technology that seems to level the operational playing field in irregular warfare also incurs heavy costs on terrorists and insurgents.

Hosted by School for Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Washington, DC and Institut français des relations internationales (Ifri), Paris

Thomas Rid , Author of "War 2.0"

Marc Hecker, Author of "War 2.0"

Sebastian Kaempf, University of Queensland

Thursday, 4 June 2009, 4:30 p.m., Pumpenhaus