The Future Character of Conflict is a study produced by the UK Ministry of Defence's Development, Concepts and Doctrine Centre (DCDC). It was undertaken alongside the Centre's Global Strategic Trends Programme, both were launched alongside the Defence Green Paper published on the 3rd February 2010.
The report details global trends that indicate increasing instability and growing opportunity for confrontation and conflict. State failure, extremists, increased competition for resources and the changing global balance of power will dictate why, where and how conflict occurs. The study concludes that the character of conflict will continue to evolve. Though it is impossible to accurately predict the exact character of the future conflict, in many future operations the armed forces are likely to face a range of simultaneous threats and adversaries in an anarchic and extended operating area.
The Future Character of Conflict [1]
The Defence Green Paper 2010 [2]
The original article can be found at Future Character of Conflict and the edit history here.