New Challenges and Old Concepts
Understanding 21st Century Insurgency
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 20138307 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Steven Metz (United States Army War College, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2011 |
| Volume | 41 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Publication date | 2011-11-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The US Army War College Quarterly Parameters (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0031-1723 • E-ISSN: 0031-1723 |
| Publisher | United States Army War College Press (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.55540/0031-1723.2612 |
| OpenAlex | W4292551492 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 5 |
| References cited | 6 |
F rom the 1960s to the 1980s stopping Communist-backed insurgents was an important part of American strategy, so counterinsurgency was an important mission for the US military, particularly the Army. Even when most of the Army turned its attention to large-scale warfighting and the operational art following Vietnam, special operation forces preserved some degree of capability. In the 1980s American involvement in El Salvador and a spate of insurgencies around the world linked to the Soviets and Chinese sparked renewed interest in counterinsurgency operations (as a component of low-intensity conflict). By 1990 what could be called the El Salvador model of counterinsurgency, based on a limited US military footprint in conjunction with the strengthening of local security forces, became codified in strategy and doctrine. 1 Interest then faded. Policymakers, military leaders, and defense experts assumed that insurgency was a relic of the Cold War, posing little challenge in the "new world order." With the demise of the Soviet Union and the mellowing of China, insurgency-even though it persisted in the far corners of the worldwas not viewed as a strategic challenge to the world's sole superpower. With American involvement in Somalia, Bosnia, Kosovo, and Haiti, multinational peacekeeping-a previously unimportant role for the military-moved to the fore. In a burst of energy, the military revamped its peacekeeping doctrine and concepts. Professional military education and training shifted to accommodate these missions. Wargames, conferences, and seminars proliferated. Counterinsurgency was forgotten by all but a tiny handful of scholars
Insurgency · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · European and Russian Geopolitical Military Strategies · Law
| Unique citing works | 5 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0.26 |
| Citation span | 2007 - 2020 (14) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 5 |