Accession Number:

ADA399415

Title:

RAND Research Brief: The New Face of Insurgency

Descriptive Note:

Corporate Author:

RAND CORP SANTA MONICA CA

Personal Author(s):

Report Date:

2001-01-01

Pagination or Media Count:

2.0

Abstract:

During the Cold War, state support or sponsorship of insurgencies was a common instrument of foreign policy for Washington and Moscow. The United States, for exam- pie, used the Nicaraguan contras as part of its policy to contain and roll back communism, while the Soviet Union backed communist guerillas in countries such as Angola and Greece to further its influence. Regional powers also recognized the utility of insurgencies to promote their interests. Although such state support for insurgency did not cease with the end of the Cold War, the face of insurgency has changed in the post-Cold War era. Combining a broad survey of all major insurgencies active since 1991 with a more detailed, qualitative examination case studies of several of the most important insurgent movements active in the last decade, Daniel Byman, Peter Chalk, Bruce Hoffman, William Rosenau, and David Brannan try to understand this change by assessing post-Cold War trends in external support for insurgent movements. They focus on three questions 1 What are the external sources of support for insurgencies today 2 What motivates the different sources of support and 3 How do different sources of support contribute to insurgent movements

Descriptors:

• *INSURGENCY
• FOREIGN POLICY
• USSR
• UNITED STATES
• DEFENSE SYSTEMS
• MILITARY CAPABILITIES
• COLD WAR
• MILITARY PLANNING
• INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
• COMMUNISM
• NATIONAL DEFENSE

Subject Categories:

• Unconventional Warfare

Distribution Statement:

APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE