7- Insurgency & Counterinsurgency

Question 1

some forms of civil war (3)

Answer 1

1. insurgency
2. conventional
3. internationalized
   (other possibilities: transnational, criminal, revolutionary, new vs old)

Question 2

stages of people’s war (3)

Answer 2

1. organizing by educating citizens, and the military is used in a clandestine way- not engaging in battles, but rather taking actions like assassinating officials.
2. progressive expansion- the guerilla’s increase their presence- they engage in guerilla warfare like hit-and-run attacks, and attacking towns
3. destruction of the enemy- transitioning from insurgency to a conventional war, and capture cities.

Question 3

compare foco vs. people’s - goals

Answer 3

maoist peoples war aims to build strength over the long term
foco aims to inspire people to rebel against the government in the short term

Question 4

identification problem in counterinsurgency

Answer 4

its a challenge to distinguish btw insurgents and civilians.

Question 5

what’s insurgency?

Answer 5

violent opposition to rule by a stronger force.

Question 6

compare the strategy of maoist people’s war v.s foco

Answer 6

mao’s peoples war builds strength over time, gradually takes territory, and then moves on to a conventional phase
faco based insurgency uses guerilla warfare to generate popular support, and push people into a rebellion against the government

Question 7

compare “confrontation” in maoist people’s war and foco theory

Answer 7

maoist peoples war confronts the government after building up strength and taking territory
foco based insurgency relies on popular support to overthrow the government - without a prolonged buildup of strength.

Question 8

british counterinsurgency

Answer 8

ENEMY CENTRIC
win the hearts and minds of the people
the doctrine of minimum force
carefully targeted violence
-> in practice, many atrocities.

Question 9

french counterinsurgency

Answer 9

ENEMY CENTRIC
mainly political, not military
cleaning one territory, and moving to another (push out of one area, and than expand that area on the map)

Question 10

american counterinsurgency

Answer 10

POPULATION CENTRIC
contribution of civilian agencies
winning hearts and minds
focus on ground action, not airpower

Question 11

compare enemy centric vs. population centric theories, and who used them?

Answer 11

enemy centric theories were used by the British and the french- and they focused on taking offensive action against the enemy

population centric theories were used by americans- and they focused on defending the population.

Question 12

“hearts and minds” meaning?

Answer 12

convincing the population that it’s in their best interest to let the counterinsurgency efforts succeed.
- not about emotion, about strategic interests.
- changing the citizens perceptions about their interests

Question 13

3 stages of the “clear hold build” strategy of Americans

Answer 13

1. separate insurgents from civilians
2. protect civilians against insurgents
3. provide public goods to civilians

Question 14

what general challenges do COIN eforts face? (3)

Answer 14

1. slow and costly process- need to commit massive human and material resources
2. success depends on targetted attacks against militants and the provision of services to civilians
3. good intelligence is necessary

Question 15

what individual behavoiur challenges do COIN efforts face?

Answer 15

convincing civilians relies on a set of behaviours and material factors. however, material factors aren’t the only things people care about. social groups and supported causes matter too. in fact, people prefer paying a cost in return of harming the other group (aka parochial altruism)

Question 16

parochial altruism is…

Answer 16

individual sacrifice to benefit the ingroup and harm the outgroup

Question 17

what are the implications of individual behaviour in counterinsurgency? (2)

Answer 17

1. individuals are willng to get punishments for the sake of their group -> makes it difficult for COIN to prevent violence as individuals are willing to get punishment.
2. violence hardens dividing lines, reinforcing parochial behavior

Question 18

What are the assumptions on which counterinsurgency is based?

Answer 18

• Military force alone cannot solve the underlying political and social issues that fuel the insurgency.
• Instead, a comprehensive approach that combines military action with political, economic, and social reforms is necessary.

Question 19

how is parochialism a major challenge in counterinsurgency efforts?

Answer 19

-> Parochialism makes it hard to recruit local individuals to join COIN forces, as their loyalty is more likely to be to their local community rather than the COIN mission.
-> Parochialism hinders the collection of reliable intelligence, as local communities may be hesitant to provide information that could be seen as betraying their own community members.