The rise of remote-control wars and the death of restraint

A deadly, dangerous new world order is shaping up

- Surinder Singh Oberoi

In 2025, as we complete the first quarter of the 21st century, the global security landscape is defined less by diplomacy and more by drones. Weaponising of modern technology has upended the very nature of warfare, bringing the world to the precipice of unprecedented and invisible destruction, not just of nations, assets but of humanity itself. From the war-ravaged alleys of Gaza and the plains of Ukraine to the snowy peaks of the Himalayas and the shadowy deserts of the West Asia, conflict zones are multiplying, and with them, a dangerous trend: wars fought remotely, laws massively flouted with impunity, and the nuclear taboo, that once was seen under control, growing alarmingly thin.

As the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) warns in its 2025 Yearbook, the era of nuclear reductions is over. The world is now hurtling toward a new arms race, more complex, unpredictable, and catastrophic than the Cold War ever was.

Remote-controlled wars where humans and emotions are absent, machines substitute them. Modern warfare is no longer a battlefield affair. Soldiers are increasingly replaced by machines. Attack drones, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), precision-guided missiles, Al-assisted targeting systems, and space-based surveillance dominate the scene. War rooms and control centres thousands of miles from the frontlines now determine the fate of civilians, infrastructure, and entire states. Civilians are no longer collateral damage; they are targets. Dams are bombed, hospitals are shelled, and nuclear power plants are struck with chilling regularity. International law, which once provided at least a moral speed bump, has been reduced to statements of "grave concern" issued by powerless global institutions. As wars escalate without boots on the ground, without crossing the borders, accountability continues to vanish into the cloud of digital warfare and fake news.