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Book Launch: Small Wars, Big Data

The Information Revolution in Modern Conflict
Thursday, December 13, 2018 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm
CSIS Headquarters

The CSIS Transnational Threats Project cordially invites you to a book launch event for Eli Berman, Joseph H. Felter & Jacob N. Shapiro's newly released Small Wars, Big Data: The Information Revolution in Modern Conflict (Princeton University Press).  
 
Moderated by
Seth G. Jones
Harold Brown Chair
Director, Transnational Threats Project
Senior Adviser, International Security Program 

With
Jacob N. Shapiro
Professor of Politics and International Affairs at Princeton University
 

The way wars are fought has changed starkly over the past sixty years. International military campaigns used to play out between large armies at central fronts. Today's conflicts find major powers facing rebel insurgencies that deploy elusive methods, from improvised explosives to terrorist attacks. Small Wars, Big Data presents a transformative understanding of these contemporary confrontations and how they should be fought. The authors show that a revolution in the study of conflict--enabled by vast data, rich qualitative evidence, and modern methods—yields new insights into terrorism, civil wars, and foreign interventions. Modern warfare is not about struggles over territory but over people; civilians—and the information they might choose to provide—can turn the tide at critical junctures.

The authors draw practical lessons from the past two decades of conflict in locations ranging from Latin America and the Middle East to Central and Southeast Asia. Building an information-centric understanding of insurgencies, the authors examine the relationships between rebels, the government, and civilians. This approach serves as a springboard for exploring other aspects of modern conflict, including the suppression of rebel activity, the role of mobile communications networks, the links between aid and violence, and why conventional military methods might provide short-term success but undermine lasting peace. Ultimately the authors show how the stronger side can almost always win the villages, but why that does not guarantee winning the war.

Small Wars, Big Data provides groundbreaking perspectives for how small wars can be better strategized and favorably won to the benefit of the local population.

This event is made possible through general support to CSIS.
Featuring
Jacob N. Shapiro
Professor of Politics and International Affairs at Princeton University
CSIS Experts
Seth G. Jones
Senior Vice President; Harold Brown Chair; and Director, International Security Program
Contact
Contact Danika Newlee
Media Queries

Contact H. Andrew Schwartz
Chief Communications Officer
Tel: 202.775.3242

Contact Caleb Diamond
Media Relations Manager and Editorial Associate
Tel: 202.775.3173

Related
Afghanistan, Central Asia, Counterterrorism and Homeland Security, Defense and Security, Geopolitics and International Security, Middle East, Pakistan, South America, Transnational Threats Project

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