Volume 5, Issue 1

Spring 2011

In this edition of the Review, we present three feature article sections. Our first section, "Insurgency, Counterinsurgency & Reality," considers some new ideas, insights and observations, from the field as well as from theoretical analysis, on current insurgencies and counterinsurgencies from the Middle East and South Asia. In this section, Major Thomas M. Ross discusses the challenges of "muscular mentoring" and of applying COIN theory as prescribed in FM 3-24 to the battlefield realities of the war in Afghanistan; George Washington University's Chris Dallas-Feeney examines Hezbollah to help understand the role of legitimated power on the resilience of insurgencies which experience external shocks, and to investigate the payoff for investments made to legitimate their power prior to such shocks; and CCS researcher Barry S. Zellen discusses the roots and dynamics of the recent wave of people-powered uprisings across the Middle East and North Africa.

Our second section, "Afghanistan: Engagement & Disengagement," examines the war in Afghanistan, and challenges associated with our potential disengagement the conflict. In this section, Dr. Andrew J. Enterline and Joseph Magagnoli, both of the Department of Political Science at the University of North Texas, examine the timing and consequences of negotiating with the Taliban; and Varun Vira, of George Washington University, considers the consequences of an early withdrawal from the conflict.

Our third feature article section looks broadly a "Conquering Chaos: From Insecurity to Security," considering various challenges to the international economic, cultural, and strategic order. In this section, Lieutenant Colonel Frederick Choo of the Singapore Armed Forces and Dr. David A. Anderson, professor of Strategic Studies and the Odom Chair of Joint, Interagency and Multinational Operations at the US Army Command and General Staff College, consider the effects of China's historic WTO ascension on regional security; USAF Col. Michael F. Welch examines the international legal challenges of disaster response, peacekeeping ops, and cultural protection efforts in the Americas; and Brazilian Navy commander Osvaldo Peçanha Caninas discusses the international legal dimensions of modern maritime piracy on the high seas.

We also present a selection of new student theses, including that of our very own Matthew C. DuPée.

Insurgency, Counterinsurgency & Reality

• Muscular Mentoring: FM 3-24 and Selected Experiences of Regional Corps Advisory Command 3-5 by Thomas M. Ross
• The Social Fitness of Insurgencies: The Organizational Payoff for Legitimated Power—The Case of Hezbollah by Chris Dallas-Feeney
• Muscular Nonviolence: People Powered Insurgencies Stage a Stunning Resurgence by Barry S. Zellen

Afghanistan: Engagement & Disengagement

• Negotiating with the Taliban: The Timing and Consequence of Settlements in Foreign Power COIN Wars by Andrew J. Enterline and Joseph Magagnoli
• A Return to 2001: The Consequences of Premature Withdrawal from Afghanistan by Varun Vira

Conquering Chaos: From Insecurity to Security

• Economic Liberalism and Regional Security in East Asia: A Case Study on the Impact of China's Accession to the WTO by Frederick Choo and David A. Andersen
• Disaster Response, Peacekeeping/Stability Ops, and Cultural Heritage Protection: Capacity Development through the Inter-American System by Michael F. Welch
• Rogue Wave: Modern Maritime Piracy and International Law by Osvaldo Peçanha Caninas

Student Theses

• The Narcotics Emirate of Afghanistan: Examining Armed Polities and Their Roles in Illicit Drug Production and Conflict in Afghanistan 1980-2010 by Matthew C. DuPee (December 2010)
• Applying the Theory and Techniques of Situational Criminology to Counterinsurgency Operations: Reducing Insurgency Through Situational Preventions by Stephen Gibbs (June 2010)