This textbook offers an accessible introduction to counterinsurgency operations, a key aspect of modern warfare.

Featuring essays by some of the world's leading experts on unconventional conflict, both scholars and practitioners, the book discusses how modern regular armed forces react, and should react, to irregular warfare. The volume is divided into three main sections:

• Doctrinal Origins: analysing the intellectual and historical roots of modern Western theory and practice
• Operational Aspects: examining the specific role of various military services in counterinsurgency, but also special forces, intelligence, and local security forces
• Challenges: looking at wider issues, such as governance, culture, ethics, civil-military cooperation, information operations, and time.

Understanding Counterinsurgency is the first comprehensive textbook on counterinsurgency, and will be essential reading for all students of small wars, counterinsurgency and counterterrorism, strategic studies and security studies, both in graduate and undergraduate courses as well as in professional military schools.

This volume examines the Middle East's leading armed forces and their role in both military and political affairs. It considers their missions, doctrine, training, equipment and effectiveness as fighting forces. At the same time, the various expert contributors discuss the relations between the armed forces and their respective governments, with the issues raised ranging from internal repression to budgetary matters. On some issues, high-ranking officers force Arab regimes to meet their demands. In other ways, regimes impose restrictions on the armies in order to maintian their own political control. These mechanisms also reduce the soldiers' military quality, and hence their ability to wage war.

This textbook offers an accessible introduction to counterinsurgency operations, a key aspect of modern warfare.

Featuring essays by some of the world 's leading experts on unconventional conflict, both scholars and practitioners, the book discusses how modern regular armed forces react, and should react, to irregular warfare. The volume is divided into three main sections:

• Doctrinal Origins: analysing the intellectual and historical roots of modern Western theory and practice
• Operational Aspects: examining the specific role of various military services in counterinsurgency, but also special forces, intelligence, and local security forces
• Challenges: looking at wider issues, such as governance, culture, ethics, civil-military cooperation, information operations, and time.

Understanding Counterinsurgency is the first comprehensive textbook on counterinsurgency, and will be essential reading for all students of small wars, counterinsurgency and counterterrorism, strategic studies and security studies, both in graduate and undergraduate courses as well as in professional military schools.