Democratic Counterinsurgents: How Democracies Can Prevail in Irregular Warfare (Rethinking Political Violence)

This Book Explores The Ways In Which Democracies Can Win Counterinsurgencies When They Implement A Proper Strategy. At A Time When The Usa Is Retrenching From Two Bungled Foreign Wars That Involved Deadly Insurgent Uprisings, This Is A Particularly Important Argument. Succumbing To The Trauma Of Those Engagements And Drawing The Wrong Conclusions About Counterinsurgency Can Only Lead To Further Defeat In The Future. Rather Than Assuming That Counterinsurgency Is Ineffective, It Is Crucial To Understand That A Conventional Response To An Insurgent Challenge Is Likely To Fail. Counterinsurgency Must Be Applied From The Beginning, And If Done Properly Can Be Highly Effective, Even When Used By Democratic Regimes. In Fact, Because Such Regimes Are Often Wealthier; Have More Experience At Institution-building And Functional Governance; Are More Pluralistic In Nature And Therefore Enjoy Higher Levels Of Legitimacy Than Do Autocracies, Democracies May Have Considerable Advantages In Counterinsurgency Warfare. Rather Than Give Up In Despair, Democracies Should Learn To Leverage These Advantages And Implement Them Against Future Insurgencies.--back Cover. Introduction -- The Puzzle -- Organization -- The Arguments -- Lack Of Resolve -- Strategic Limitations -- What Counts As Winning? -- Legitimacy -- A Population-centric Coin Strategy -- Direct Action Against The Insurgent -- Indirect Action Against The Insurgent -- Interaction With The Population -- Malaya -- History -- Direct Action Against The Insurgent -- Indirect Action Against The Insurgent -- Interaction With The Population -- Conclusion -- Vietnam -- History -- Direct Action Against The Insurgent -- Indirect Action Against The Insurgent -- Interaction With The Population -- Conclusion -- Iraq -- History -- Direct Action Against The Insurgent -- Indirect Action Against The Insurgent -- Interaction With The Population -- Conclusion -- Conclusions. By William Patterson. Includes Bibliographical References (page 159-163) And Index. Front Matter....Pages i-xii Introduction....Pages 1-9 The Arguments....Pages 11-37 A Population-Centric COIN Strategy....Pages 39-59 Malaya....Pages 61-83 Vietnam....Pages 85-120 Iraq....Pages 121-148 Conclusions....Pages 149-158 Back Matter....Pages 159-170