Armed Groups: A Tier-One Security Priority
Abstract
This is the 57th volume in the Occasional Paper series of the U.S. Air Force Institute for National Security Studies (INSS). Richard Shultz, Douglas Farah, and Itamara Lochard offered this paper for INSS publication because they saw it as complementary to two previous papers that INSS has published: Troy Thomas and Stephen Kiser's "Lords of the Silk Route" (Occasional Paper 43, May 2002); and Troy Thomas and William Casebeer's "Violent Systems" (Occasional Paper 52, March 2004). These two papers established a systematic framework for the analysis of the broad category of violent non-state actors. Shultz, Farah, and Lochard add detail to significant elements of that framework. They develop a four-category typology of armed groups, demonstrating that one must recognize and adapt to the differences among the different types of violent actors in today's international environment; develop a very promising profiling model for these groups, creating a four-by-six matrix for group analysis; suggest significant geographic regions of danger where these groups can thrive without effective controls; and suggest how the intelligence and operational communities must adapt to effectively counter this rising and significant threat.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 2004
- Accession Number
- ADA435193
Entities
People
- Douglas Farah
- Itamara V. Lochard
- Richard H. Shultz
Organizations
- United States Air Force Academy