The evolution of war
Historically the effectiveness to engage in warfare has been limited by only one factor - resources. The more resources a country had the more effective it was at fighting wars. Greater resources meant more soldiers and more guns resulting in attrition warfare. However in the last 100 years this has taken a dramatic turn with the addition of another factor - technology. With more advanced weapons becoming available (stealth planes, laser guided missiles, nuclear bombs) it is the technology poor countries that are finding themselves defenseless.
The following graph shows how much the United States has spent on its military since 1940 as a percentage of its GDP. It can be seen that huge amounts were spent during World War II. As a result it was this war that changed the focus of the military. No longer could countries afford to have attrition warfare as both the human and financial cost was too high.
Unfortunately the majority of World War II was fought with both sides having comparable technology. It was only towards the end when the atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki did Japan have a "technology poor" military. Since then the United States has maintained a technology lead over rival countries. As a result although its military spending has remained higher than pre World War II levels its casualties have been significantly lower during times of war.
Countries around the world have created weapons that have longer range, are more accurate to use and have far greater destructive power. The last 100 years have seen a massive improvement in these factors. This poses an interesting question. Is there a limit over how far we can go?
What we do know is that weapons are likely to become smaller, more powerful and more accurate. They are also likely to become more available to other countries, extremist groups and even individuals. As shown by the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing (in which over 160 people died), one person can cause destruction on a large scale if so motivated. Shown below are the number of confirmed countries that possess nuclear weapons.
This now poses an interesting dilemma. If the availability, destructive power and conceal-ability of weapons continues to increase can the human race hope to survive against individuals or countries with extremest viewpoints?
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