In contrast to the concept of a social conflict, the notions of a modern war (MWs) and critical situation are still insufficiently investigated. The main topics of the article are the general characteristic of modern wars and critical situations, the role of market, international legal institutions, media and socio-ecological factors of the emergence and development of the MWs as well as of problem of material and human wastes as the risky forces which diminished the space of the Planet suitable for life. 
The following features of the above phenomena have been identified: first, risks engendered by the MWs equally embrace an institutional system of a society, ways of life, natural and man-made ecosystems; second, every MW has a dynamic character: in the course of its development some actors involved loss their power while others gained more strength. As a rule, starting as a local/intra-state conflict the MW gradually acquires an international character; third, the processes of socio-ecological metabolism generated by the MWs have no definite space-time limits; fourth, programmed media-market is a mighty weapon of MWs; fifth, the MWs are of two kinds: a sharp overall destruction of natural and human communities and their long-term ‘peaceful’ extinction which is risky as well; sixth, a behavior of local population is totally depends on the swings of the MWs in the given area. The author came to the conclusion that the majority of the MWs are not the ‘unintended events’ but presents by themselves the cumulative effects of a long chain of everyday struggle of social actors for resources and political domination. In sum, the MWs and critical situations they generated have no space-time limits. Then who, when and basing on which informational sources will fix this rapidly changing and multisided critical situation? – that is the question for us, sociologists.

critical situation, international legal institutions, market, media, modern war, risk, socio-ecological metabolism, wastes