The Internet, New Media, and the Evolution of Insurgency
Abstract
Insurgency, like war, has an enduring nature and a changing character. It remains a strategy entailing violence used by the weak and desperate against a power system.1 Often (but not always), this pits a nonstate or proto-state organization against a state. Out of weakness, the organization using a strategy of insurgency attempts to shift the focus of conflict away from domains where the state or other power structure is particularly strong, particularly the conventional military. Insurgents seek to make domains decisive where morale and other psychological characteristics matter more than tangible power, recognizing these characteristics even the odds to a certain extent. The enduring nature of insurgency includes three core functions: an insurgency must survive, it must strengthen itself, and it must weaken the power structure or state. How an insurgency accomplishes these three objectives constitutes the changing character of the phenomenon. Throughout the long history of insurgency there have been multiple types or models. Today, three exist in various parts of the world.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2012
- Accession Number
- ADA598619
Entities
People
- Steven Metz
Organizations
- United States Army War College