Theory and Practice of Irregular Warfare

<p>This book offers an analysis of key individuals who have contributed to both the theory and the practice of counterinsurgency (COIN). </p><p></p><p>Insurgencies have become the dominant form of armed conflict around the world today. The perceptible degeneration of the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan into insurgent quagmires has sparked a renewal of academic and military interest in the theory and practice of counterinsurgency. In light of this this book provides a rigorous analysis of those individuals who have contributed to both the theory and practice of counterinsurgency: ‘warrior-scholars’. These are soldiers who have bridged the academic-military divide by influencing doctrinal and intellectual debates about irregular warfare. </p><p></p><p>Irregular warfare is notoriously difficult for the military and scholarly understanding about this type of warfare is also problematic; especially given the residual anti-intellectualism within Western militaries. Thus <i>The Theory and Practice of Irregular Warfare </i>is dedicated to analysing the best perceivable bridge between these two worlds. The authors explore the theoretical and practical contributions made by a selection of warrior-scholars of different nationalities from periods ranging from the French colonial wars of the mid-twentieth century to the Israeli experiences in the Middle East; from contributions to American counter-insurgency made during the Iraq War to the thinkers who shaped the US war in Vietnam.</p><p></p><p>This book will be of much interest to students of counterinsurgency strategic studies defence studies war studies and security studies in general.</p>