Modern Guerrilla Insurgency

This study argues that guerrilla insurgence will be a major feature of the post-Cold War international scene, and that the advisability of intervention in some of them will become a serious issue in American politics. Americans therefore need to refine their understanding of insurgency. Anthony James Joes analyzes several major insurgencies of this century, all of which the United States became involved in to one degree or another. While approaching each guerrilla insurgency as a primarily political phenomenon within a definite historical and cultural context, Joes also provides the reader with a clear understanding of the military aspects of such conflicts. The book deals with a variety of cases, some currently very controversial; provides jargon-free analysis of historical, political, and military factors; challenges some widely cherished views about the potency of third-world nationalism; emphasizes the flaws in both the French and the American strategies in Vietnam; and connects Soviet reverses in Afghanistan with the collapse of their empire in Europe. A major conclusion is that protracted guerrilla insurgency is usually the result of inept government policies; the author outlines a politico-military strategy for bringing an insurgency to an end. Another important conclusion is that our belief in the power of nationalism in insurgencies needs reevaluation. This volume should provide a new perspective for students, teachers, and general readers interested in international affairs, war, and foreign policy.

ISBN 0275942635   Pages 256 ISBN13 9780275942632 (What's this?)   Volumes 1 Publisher ABC-CLIO   Weight (grammes) 558 Imprint Greenwood Press   Published in Westport Format Hardback   Height (mm) 240 Publication date 09 Oct 1992   Width (mm) 161 Library of Congress D431.J64 1   Spine width (mm) 25 DEWEY 355.0218   Academic level Undergraduate, Postgraduate DEWEY edition DC20

		Acknowledgments
		Introduction: Insurgency and the Future		1
Ch. 1		On the Nature of Guerrilla War		5
Ch. 2		A Greek Drama		13
Ch. 3		Insurrections in the Philippines		53
Ch. 4		The Agony of French Indochina		85
Ch. 5		South Viet Nam: Defeat Out of Victory		129
Ch. 6		Afghanistan: The End of the Red Behemoth		161
		Conclusion: Guerrilla Insurgency and American Policy		207
		Selected Bibliography		219
		Index		231

"Professor Joes has completed an outstanding case study analysis of five post-WW II guerrilla insurgencies that had significant international political implications well beyond the actual theater of conflict. This thoroughly researched and well written volume should be of value to at least two audiences. For the scholar, the author presents a compelling analysis that outlines in detail the complex political sources of internal conflict and the degree to which insurgents skillfully and not so skillfully integrate these factors into a political-paramilitary strategy. This should likewise be most useful to the military officer at the Command and Staff and War College levels. The volume is equally important to the policymaker."-Richard H. Shultz Director, International Security Studies Program Tufts University

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