Subversion and Insurgency

RAND Counterinsurgency Study -- Paper 2

William Rosenau

Expert InsightsPublished Feb 13, 2007

The conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have generated intense interest in counterinsurgency within the U.S. armed forces, the intelligence community, the State Department, and the Department of Defense. However, subversion — a critical part of the repertoire of many insurgent groups — remains a neglected subject. This paper presents a set of case studies to explore the elements of subversion in-depth. It discusses preliminary ideas for combating subversive activities in the context of the “long war” against violent Islamist extremism and concludes with a discussion of how American support for countersubversion within authoritarian regimes can conflict with other important U.S. foreign policy objectives, such as the promotion of human rights.

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Document Details

  • Copyright: RAND Corporation
  • Availability: Web Only
  • Year: 2007
  • Pages: 32
  • Document Number: OP-172-OSD

Citation

Chicago Manual of Style

Rosenau, William, Subversion and Insurgency: RAND Counterinsurgency Study -- Paper 2. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2007. https://www.rand.org/pubs/occasional_papers/OP172.html.
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