4세대 전쟁 이론의 실효성 분석과 한국 국방의 패러다임 전환

Abstract

With the advent of the information age, military theorists have argued for new military theories to perform in order to carry out war effectively. In particular, the fourth generation warfare theory has been researched accordingly so as to recognize that a variety of non-state groups and organizations often deploy a variety of unconventional warfare tactics, including terrorist acts against advanced technology groups in the nascent digital era. The fourth generation war theory can be applied through the lenses of the war in Afghanistan, and the Iraq War, all of which were major wars carried out by the US military in the information age. However, the reason why the US military failed in successfully stabilizing the region after the main conflict had been won in both Afghanistan and Iraq was because they had not effectively develop the fourth generation warfare theory. The US military exerted remarkable prowess during the main battle, combining information technology, but after the war ended, the combat performing manners related to the stabilization operations were not established in an enlarged phase toward the fourth generation war strategy. At Result, many victims suffered and the situation resulted in prolonged conflict. To improve this situation, the US is reestablishing military theory concerning the full spectrum of operations and battle performing methods are being developed in order to effectively deal with both regular warfare and fourth generation warfare. However, if the Korean military engages in battles with the military doctrine mainly oriented toward regular wars, as is the present situation, even though the Korean military may win, it will prove difficult to prevent the situation from expanding into fourth generation war. Therefore, the Korean military should mainly focus on developing the theory and doctrine of the fourth generation war so that they are able to plan a variety of operations, including stabilization operations, to begin preparation for possible unification and sudden changes in North Korea as well as the doctrine of regular wars. Under this context, the study analyzed the effectiveness evaluation of the changing security environment and the fourth generation warfare theory, centered on the main theory of Lind (William S. Lind) who championed fourth generation war as a method with which to engage in war and respond to the socioeconomic changes in the information age and investigated the plan with regard its application for the Korean military and future challenges.