Air‐power, land‐power and the challenge of ethnic conflict

Abstract

As recent events in Kosovo have demonstrated, demands for the international community to intervene in ethnic conflict and Civil Wars have become common currency in the post‐Cold War era. While much attention has been focused on the ethical imperative behind such interventions, little attention has been paid to the doctrinal aspects of such intervention, including matching the military force required to the political objective. By examining the current debates surrounding the efficacy of air‐power over land‐power — a debate, as the author reminds us, that has long been a feature of debates over limited war‐the author argues for a re‐examination of the way outside military force should be employed in future internecine conflicts.