Virtual War signifies the increased use of and dependence on technology

Technology

Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...

 in the course of war

War

War is a state of organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict carried on between states, nations, or other parties typified by extreme aggression, social disruption, and usually high mortality. War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political...

fare. It includes the time/space separation between an attacker and the intended target which results in the "sanitization" of war. The concept has gained notoriety amongst policy makers and academics who study the Revolution in Military Affairs

Revolution in Military Affairs

The military concept of Revolution in Military Affairs is a theory about the future of warfare, often connected to technological and organizational recommendations for change in the United States military and others....

. James Der Derian

James Der Derian

James Der Derian is a Watson Institute research professor of international studies and professor of political science at Brown University. In July 2004, he became the director of the Institute’s Global Security Program...

, in his book Virtuous War: Mapping the Military-Industrial-Media-Entertainment Network elaborates extensively on the concept of Virtual War and the consequences of increased technological integration within modern militaries.

See also

Jack M. Beard, Law and War in the Virtual Era, 103 Am. J. Int'l. L. 409 (2009). Web