The Hybrid Counterinsurgency Strategy: System Dynamics Employed to Develop a Behavioral Model of Joint Strategy
Abstract
Since the recent focus on the Global War on Terrorism, both military and civilian theorists have begun to "relearn" the intricacies of counterinsurgency warfare. We face difficult challenges when confronting nonstate actors that tend to attack in the time between conventional battles and the establishment of stable governments. This research compares and contrasts current counterinsurgency strategies (Hearts and Minds and Cost Benefit Theory) by applying System Dynamics to provide insight into the influences and emergent behavior patterns of counterinsurgency systems. The information gained from the development of the models and from their simulation behaviors is used to construct a System Dynamics model of a Hybrid Counterinsurgency Strategy that combines the influential elements and behaviors from each of the previous models to obtain a more comprehensive model of the counterinsurgency system. This process yields behavior patterns that suggest that security operations, critical during the short-term, are key to disrupting insurgent organizational mechanisms that strongly influence the population's support for the host government and the coalition. The models also demonstrate the strength of the influence of information operations on the counterinsurgency system. Finally, the construction of the models and simulation behaviors propose that harvesting host nation capacity throughout the counterinsurgency is the most influential factor for maintaining long-term stability.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 06, 2009
- Accession Number
- ADA502455
Entities
People
- Ferdinand Maldonado
Organizations
- Air Force Institute of Technology