Digitalization Reshaping Conflicts — The Ordinary Citizen as the New Peacekeeper

In this paper we explore how digitalization changes the nature of conflicts. Based on a theoretical foundation of conflict as a socially emergent phenomenon, we investigate how conflicts in the digitalized era emerge, how wars are fought, how digitalization changes the traditional forms of warfare, and the implications of the new digital battlefield where cyberwarfare is waged. We discuss two principal changes driven by digitalization. First, digitalization will make conflicts more ambiguous. Second, digitalization individualizes warfare. Based on these changes, we outline the emerging role of the individual as the modern digital peacekeeper, what government policies could be expected to drive a more peaceful world, and, finally, what business opportunities might arise.