Major General (ret.) Mick Ryan, Australia, Author of The War for Ukraine: Strategy and Adaptation Under Fire.
“The Wars of Tomorrow is the book Europe's political and military leaders should have demanded a decade ago and must read today. Tim Sweijs and Martijn Kitzen have produced something rare: a rigorous, unsentimental account of how Western societies, lulled by the peace dividend, blinded by their own optimism, and catastrophically wrong about the future of war, now face a strategic reckoning unlike anything since 1945.”
Lt General (ret.) Sir Nick Carter, former Chief of the Defence Staff, United Kingdom
"This excellent book should be a wakeup call for European policy makers. It rightly starts from the premise that we are now living in a more Hobbesian world, and Europe needs to act accordingly. The authors properly highlight the parallels with the 1930s and the sense of complacency that prevailed. We continue to forget the warning attributed to the Russian revolutionary, Leon Trotsky: “you may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you”. The authors’ call to arms must not be ignored, nor their excellent analysis of the rapidly evolving character of warfare that is being driven by the pace of technological change and the democratisation of information. I recommend it to you.”
Dr. Florence Gaub, Director of the Research Division at the NATO Defense College, Rome:
“With The Wars of Tomorrow, Tim Sweijs and Martijn Kitzen have produced a remarkable book – and above all, one that takes the issue of strategic foresight more seriously than almost any other in this field. How does one conceive of wars that have not yet taken place? How does one methodically deal with those ‘unknown unknowns’ that have always tripped up generals and intelligence services? The authors draw a masterful arc from the Pythia at Delphi, through Tetlock’s *Superforecaster*, to machine learning and wargaming – and in doing so make a refreshingly original claim: science fiction is not a mere accessory, but a strategic tool. From Tom Clancy’s foreshadowing of 9/11 to Singer and Cole’s *Ghost Fleet*, they demonstrate that literary imagination achieves what horizon scanning often fails to do: making the unthinkable thinkable. Intelligent, accessible, methodologically innovative – and a passionate plea for foresight to be treated as a serious discipline within European security. Essential reading."
Prof. Dr. Carlo Masala, professor of international politics at the Bundeswehr University, Munich:
‘With The Wars of Tomorrow: Europe’s Strategic Reckoning, Sweijs and Kitzen have produced a work that one can only hope will reach a wide readership. Drawing on fundamental theoretical considerations, the two scholars outline the future of warfare, with a particular focus on cyber warfare, artificial intelligence and so-called ‘grey zone’ operations. The book stands out from the many other works on war and the future of warfare in that the authors place a rightly strong emphasis on the future of warfare and, in their analysis, also incorporate the ‘other’ side – namely China and Russia – drawing on original sources. In doing so, they succeed in painting a comprehensive picture that avoids both hysteria and appeasement.
«If you want peace, prepare for war.» Few maxims capture Europe’s current reality more accurately. In The Wars of Tomorrow, Martijn Kitzen and Tim Sweijs offer a timely and authoritative analysis of how warfare is evolving in the 21st century, what these changes mean for European societies, and how Europe must prepare for the conflicts of the future.
Drawing on their unique combination of academic excellence, military expertise, and extensive experience in defense and security policy, Kitzen and Sweijs bridge the worlds of theory, policy and practice. Written in a highly accessible style, they explain complex geopolitical developments with clarity and nuance, making this an essential book for both general readers and policymakers seeking to understand today’s rapidly changing security landscape.
At a time when Europe’s security architecture is undergoing its most profound transformation in decades, The Wars of Tomorrow provides an indispensable framework for understanding the strategic challenges ahead. Combining rigorous analysis with remarkable accessibility, it is a book that will resonate with readers across international markets.