The Collapse of the Continuum of Conflict

National security professionals often conceptualize a continuum of conflict as a framework to understand the wide variety of ways in which conflict can manifest itself. It extends from relative peace on one end, terrorism and low-intensity conflict, up through large-scale combat, all the way to strategic rivalry in which nuclear weapons even come into the picture. But what if that cognitive framework no long holds? In a recent article published by Foreign Affairs , Dr. Mara Karlin explored that question. A professor of practice at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies and a former assistant secretary of defense for strategy, plans, and capabilities, she shares insights gleaned from ongoing wars, from Ukraine to the Middle East, and argues that warfare is increasingly defined by a mix of characteristics from across the continuum of conflict. The MWI Podcast is produced with the generous support of the West Point Class of 1974.

You can listen to The Collapse of the Continuum of Conflict online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

The Collapse of the Continuum of Conflict is an episode from Modern War Institute by John Amble.

This episode is 00:50:01 long.

This episode was published on Apr 4, 2025.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from Modern War Institute when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.