5GW Theory Timeline

William S. Lind, co-author of “The Changing Face of War: Into the Fourth Generation” which for the first time modeled modern warfare as a generational framework, and generally considered the “father” of the generational model, answers building speculation of a budding fifth generation style of warfare:

From what I have seen thus far, honest attempts to discover a Fifth Generation suggest that their authors have not fully grasped the vast change embodied in the Fourth Generation. The loss of the state’s monopoly, not only on war but also on social organization and first loyalties, alters everything. We are only in the earliest stages of trying to understand what the Fourth Generation means in full and how it will alter - or, in too many cases, end - our lives.

Attempting to visualize a Fifth Generation from where we are now is like trying to see the outlines of the Middle Ages from the vantage point of the late Roman Empire. There is no telescope that can reach so far.

In other words, the fourth generation of warfare has yet to fully materialize (or: has not been fully visualized, itself.)

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