The Grand Strategies of Violent Rebel Groups

Bibliographic Data

ID23570945
AuthorsDaniel Byman (Security Studies, Georgetown University, corresponding author)
Year2021
Pages506-522
Publication date2021-09-08
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeCHAPTER
VenueOxford Handbook of Grand Strategy (SOURCE_BOOK)
PublisherOxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198840299.013.33
OpenAlexW3200919413
ISBN9780198840299
LanguageEN
References cited20

This chapter examines a range of strategic options violent nonstate actors such as terrorist groups and insurgencies have used over the years with varying degrees of success. These include trying to wear down government forces, attracting significant foreign help, winning over the local population, and intimidating a range of foes in the hope of undermining the government. In many cases, strategies focus on organizational survival, trying to endure and attract resources and recruits while making an area ungovernable or inhospitable for regime forces. The chapter weighs the requirements, strengths, and weaknesses of each approach and how the enemy government shapes the best strategy for the group. It illustrates its arguments with examples from history and a longer description of the Palestinian experience. The chapter concludes by discussing how states might disrupt violent rebel group strategies through diplomacy, political reform, better intelligence, and effective military operations.

Criminology · Political Conflict and Governance · Politics and Conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Middle East · Psychology · Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political Violence

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