Fifth Generation Warfare

The evolution of conflict and where we are now

Oct 13, 2025

About a year ago, I put together a summary of the evolution of conflict with a view to providing context for what we have seen, are seeing — and will see — happening in the years to come…

The evolution of conflict

The Zeroth, First and Second Generations of warfare

Up to and including World War I

The Third and Fourth Generations of warfare

Which have defined many conflicts from World War II onwards

The Fifth and Sixth Generations of warfare

Both of which are, I suspect, rather less familiar to most people — they certainly were to me

Where we are now

As the title of this post suggests, it is particularly worth considering Fifth Generation Warfare (FGW) in more detail, especially in the context of recent years. And when I started writing this post — around a year ago now — it was my intention to write a lengthy article on FGW. But I have come to realise that that is far easier said that done. And that it might not be the best way to go about conveying what I want to convey.

I am reminded of this phrase often attributed to US physicist Richard Feynman:

If you think you understand quantum mechanics, you don’t understand quantum mechanics.

And while I would not say quite the same thing in relation to FGW, I know from personal experience that there is a lot more to it than I thought a year ago. And I suspect that in a year’s time I might well be saying the same thing…

What I would say is that:

Anyone who doesn’t realise that we have been — and still are — under sustained Fifth Generation Warfare attack has barely begun to understand Fifth Generation Warfare

As I noted in the summary, one of the characteristics of FGW is that many people don’t appreciate the extent to which it is happening, even when they are actually involved.

My current thinking is that one of the more effective ways to convey information about FGW is via the other articles on this Substack, adopting something of a strategy of “Show, don’t tell”. So please do watch this space and keep reading. And if you haven’t read these two posts, I recommend them as a good place to start: