Logo: to the web site of the Swedish Defence University

War has for all through the years adopted various guises and been performed by various actors for a wide variety of destination. But what is really a war? Why is war fought? How is war fought? By whom is war fought? Machiavelli, Clausewitz, Kaplan, Kaldor, Creveld and Krulak are just a few among others who have made valiant attempts to explain war and its nature. What did they find? This essay maps out their studies in the hope of finding some kind of continuity that can give a clearer picture of what war really is. It is important to point out; the goal is not to try to make a definition of war, but merely an attempt to find some kind of continuity. The study finds that as society develops, bridges get built and contracts are signed, everything falls apart at some point and you can  never be sure that something as complex as a war to retain some form of continuity, if any – it would be the power it contains, but barely it.