War: amongst the people or just irregular?

Abstract

The article analyzes the concept of “War Amongst the People” proposed by General Rupert Smith in his book “ The Utility of Force : The Art of War in the Modern World .” War Amongst the People” would be the new paradigm of war, which would have replaced the previous one, the Interstate Industrial War. The ideas of General Smith will have its logical and historical coherence analyzed in three steps. First, it addresses to what is considered as the basic feature of the new paradigm: a world marked by confrontations and conflicts, no longer by the dichotomy of war and peace of the previous paradigm. Subsequently, the Interstate Industrial War  is analyzed in order to verify its consistency as the previous paradigm. Finally, as the core of the work, the very idea of ​​War Amongst the People, is analyzed through its six trends. The article concludes that war, characterized by the complexity of the numerous and variable contexts in which it is fought, cannot be contained in a paradigm. It adds the need for institutions dedicated to national defense, including the Brazilian Army, to develop a thinking of defense school, eminently Brazilian, in order not to make us move adrift in ideas and concepts elaborated for needs that are not ours.