Insurgencies and Counterinsurgencies: National Styles and Strategic Cultures

This book is a major new study of the extent to which national mentalities, or 'ways of war', are responsible for 'national styles' of insurgency and counterinsurgency. Leading scholars examine the ways of war of particular insurgent movements, and the standard operational procedures of states and occupation forces to suppress them. Through case studies ranging from British, American and French counterinsurgency to the IRA and the Taliban, they show how 'national styles' evolve, influenced by transnational trends, ideas and practices. They examine whether we can identify a tendency to resort to a particular pattern of fighting and, if so, whether this is dictated by constants such as geography and climate, or by the available options, or else whether there exists a particular 'strategic culture' or 'national style'. Their findings show that 'national style' is not eternal but can undergo fundamental transformations.

Author: Beatrice Heuser
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 01/05/2017
Pages: 396
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.46lbs
Size: 9.10h x 6.10w x 1.00d
ISBN: 9781107135048

About the Author
Shamir, Eitan: - Eitan Shamir is a Senior Research Fellow with the Begin Sadat Center for Strategic Studies (BESA), Bar-Ilan University, Israel. He was formerly head of the National Security Doctrine Department at the Prime Minister's Office, Israel, and served in the Israel Defense Forces General Headquarters. Recent works include Transforming Command (2011), as well as many other articles in leading academic journals, and book chapters.Heuser, Beatrice: - Beatrice Heuser occupies a Chair in International Relations at the University of Reading, and holds degrees from the Universities of London (BA, MA) and Oxford (DPhil), and a Habilitation from Philipps-Universität Marburg, Germany. She has previously taught at universities in London, France and Germany, and briefly worked at NATO headquarters. Publications include The Evolution of Strategy (2010), Reading Clausewitz (2002), and many works on nuclear strategy, NATO, and transatlantic relations.