Seminar Abstract

Despite the emphasis in doctrine and academia that counterinsurgency is in its essence political, these operations are all too commonly discussed and approached as primarily military endeavors. Informed by the need to refocus counterinsurgency studies, this presentation provides an analytical framework that helps makes sense of irregular warfare as political violence, or more accurately: violent politics. The framework presented provides a conceptual foundation that helps map not only insurgent strategies and operational art, but also those of state- based actors experimenting with so-called hybrid or grey-zone approaches. In so doing, it offers theoretical insights into the nature of strategy and guides the process of responding to non traditional threats.

About the Speaker

David Ucko is the director of the Combating Terrorism Fellowship Program (CTSP) and associate professor at the College of International Security Affairs (CISA), at the US National Defense University. He is also an adjunct professor at the Johns Hopkins University. He is widely published on topics of counterinsurgency, strategy, and war-to-peace transitions.