The Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Insurgent Attacks

Abstract

What underlies the spatial and temporal patterns of insurgent attacks? Stathis N. Kalyvas proposes that systematic patterns of violence occur based on territorial control by rival actors. Criminologists propose that individual combatants, like individual burglars, are governed by bounded rationality and seek to maximize their benefits by attacking in repeat patterns. This paper will unpack each of these theories and address their limitations on predictive analysis within the operational environment. I propose a theoretical construct that combines the systematic analysis of Kalyvas with the individual decision making of criminology scholarship to predict why attacks occur within space and time. The significance of this proposal is important to the military profession because it offers an alternate to traditional military intelligence by incorporating a multi-disciplinary academic approach to determine the causation of enemy combatant attacks.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 13, 2014
Accession Number
ADA611564

Entities

People

  • Matthew A. Crawford

Organizations

  • United States Army Command and General Staff College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Human Systems
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Case Studies
  • Civil War
  • Criminology
  • Geographic Regions
  • Geography
  • Improvised Explosive Devices
  • Intelligence Cycle
  • Military Intelligence
  • Piracy
  • Political Science
  • Social Sciences
  • Surveillance
  • Terrorism
  • Terrorists
  • United States
  • Violence
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Political Violence and Terrorism Studies.
  • Systems Analysis and Design

Technology Areas

  • Space