就國際社會的「無政府」特質而論，戰爭實為無可避免的現象，而所謂國際秩序，也就在外交磋商、權力平衡與強權政治的運作下，游走於戰爭與和平的光譜間，故自古以來戰爭即成為國際關係中極其重要的一部份，戰爭研究也是國際關係學中極其重要的課題。戰爭影響的範圍非常深遠寬廣，故相關研究的學科也十分龐雜，須整合不同的學科進行研究；戰爭研究又可分為國際體系、國家與國家暨國家中心三個層次；就和平與戰爭發生的階段而論，又呼區分為戰爭準備、戰爭發生、戰爭遂行、戰爭結束、戰爭避免、和平研究等六個階段；就戰爭發生的可能性、參與與暴力的程度，又可劃分為：全面核子大戰、全由傳統戰爭、有限戰爭、低度衝突與恐怖主義。由於研究面向十分寬廣開闊，各種不同背景的研究者可以微觀或宏觀，也可以不同的途徑進行研究，並建構出不同的學派。一九六O年代後，美國政府投下大筆經費支助民間大學作相關的研究，使此一學科蓬勃發展。冷戰結束後，地緣對抗的概念轉化為經濟對抗、與科技與資訊的對抗，戰爭研究的領域愈形擴大，在高科技主導的戰爭型態下，後勤支援系統愈長、愈加專業化、多元化，戰爭研究的背景也愈形多元化。再則，國際「強權政治」的特質不變，因此相互嚇阻與避免戰爭的「和平研究」(Peace Study)，也長期和戰爭研究相伴隨行。

　　　　　World politics is an anarchic structure. The so-called "international order" isestablished not only on the international law, but diplomatic negotiation, balance ofpower, and result of war. However, war becomes an inevitable phenomenon of international relations. Therefore, war studies obtain much attention and becomemore important in social sciences. There are three levels frequently taken into discussion in war studies: state-centered, inter-state, and international system, and the process of war can bedivided into six stages: preparing, initiation, conduction, ending, avoiding, and peacestudy. The ranges and degrees of war can be classified as nuclear war, conventionalwar, limited war, low intensity conflict LIC ), and terrorism. Therefore, inter-disciplines research is necessary for war studies if we want to understand better thedimensions and approaches of this subject. After the cold war, geopolitics has been replaced by geoeconomics andgeoinformation. The scope of war studies have been broaden during the time of Hi-Tech armamemt. The logistical support will be more specilized and professionalized,and various civilian experts can also influence warfare with their knowhow.