POLS 490R-007: Advanced Seminar: Insurgency (Fall 2012)

Semester Details: Insurgency  --- a type of armed intrastate conflict involving the use of guerrilla tactics --- has become a dominant form of warfare in the post-World War Two period. Broadly speaking, this seminar examines the causes, conduct, and consequences of this complex and often misunderstood phenomenon. Specifically, students will be introduced to key political, military, economic, and social factors which inform insurgent goals, strategy, organization, and relationship with non-combatants. In addition, we will review some of the major approaches to counterinsurgency (COIN) and assess the effectiveness of various COIN policies adopted by states in terms of their intended and unintended consequences. Throughout the course, we will critically evaluate the theoretical arguments in reference to prominent historical cases of guerrilla warfare across the world, including insurgencies in Malaya, Vietnam, Mozambique, Peru, as well as in contemporary Iraq and Afghanistan. The ultimate goal of the course is to elucidate the various factors which inform and constrain belligerents' choices with respect to the onset and conduct of warfare as well as to understand how these choices combine to define its trajectory in terms of duration, casualties, and victory or defeat.