The New Rules of War Quotes

“Grand strategy is a living idea that needs flexibility to breathe, and those who dissect it will kill it.”
― Sean McFate, The New Rules of War: Victory in the Age of Durable Disorder – An Economist Book of the Year on Terrorism, Mercenaries, and the Future of Modern Warfare

“Half of winning is knowing what it looks like, and this requires a grand strategy. In an age of durable disorder, our grand strategy should seek to prevent problems from becoming crises and crises from becoming conflicts.”
― Sean McFate, The New Rules of War: Victory in the Age of Durable Disorder – An Economist Book of the Year on Terrorism, Mercenaries, and the Future of Modern Warfare

“In a shadow war, cloaking is a form of power, and information is weaponized. If
you twist your enemy’s perception of reality, you can manipulate him into strategic
blunders that can be exploited for victory. It’s also a great defense.”
― Sean McFate, The New Rules of War: Victory in the Age of Durable Disorder

“In the coming decades, we will see wars without states, and countries will be-
come prizes to be won by more powerful global actors. Many nation-states will
exist in name only, as some practically already do. Wars will be fought mostly in
the shadows by covert means, and plausible deniability will prove more effective
than firepower in an information age.”
― Sean McFate, The New Rules of War: Victory in the Age of Durable Disorder

“Our strategies and weapons are deadly—to us.”
― Sean McFate, The New Rules of War: Victory in the Age of Durable Disorder – An Economist Book of the Year on Terrorism, Mercenaries, and the Future of Modern Warfare

“The last time the United States won a conflict decisively, the world’s electronics ran on vacuum tubes.”
― Sean McFate, The New Rules of War: Victory in the Age of Durable Disorder – An Economist Book of the Year on Terrorism, Mercenaries, and the Future of Modern Warfare