Research Catalog

Title

Improving the U.S. military's understanding of unstable environments vulnerable to violent extremist groups : insights from social science / David E. Thaler, Ryan Andrew Brown, Gabriella C. Gonzalez, Blake W. Mobley, Parisa Roshan.

Author

Thaler, David E.

Publication

• Santa Monica, CA : RAND, [2013]
• © Copyright 2013

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Additional Authors

• Brown, Ryan Andrew
• Gonzalez, Gabriella
• Mobley, Blake W.
• Roshan, Parisa
• Rand Corporation, issuing body.
• United States. Army sponsoring body.
• Arroyo Center sponsoring body.

Description

xix, 96 pages : color illustrations; 28 cm

Summary

Over the previous decade, operations associated with irregular warfare have placed large demands on U.S. ground forces and have led to development of new Army and Joint doctrine. This report helps analysts identify and assess key factors that create and perpetuate environments susceptible to insurgency, terrorism, and other extremist violence and instability to inform military decisions on allocation of analytic and security assistance resources. The report focuses in particular on sources of understanding about these environments from the fields of sociology and cultural anthropology. RAND researchers surveyed existing sociological and anthropological theories and schools of thought and identified 12 key factors that give rise to and sustain unstable environments. The research found a relatively high degree of consensus among experts regarding the salience of these factors. The factors are interrelated and mutually dependent in complex ways. The report proposes a series of qualitative and quantitative metrics for each of the 12 factors and uses them in an analytic construct for assessing countries and regions based on their susceptibility to unstable environments.

Alternative Title

• Improving U.S. military understanding of unstable environments vulnerable to violent extremist groups
• Improving the United States military's understanding of unstable environments vulnerable to violent extremist groups

Subject

• Irregular warfare > United States
• Military doctrine > United States
• Social sciences > Research > United States
• Insurgency
• Terrorism > Prevention
• Political violence
• Social sciences > United States > Research

Note

• "RAND Corporation research report series."--Web page (PDF).
• "Prepared for the United States Army."
• "RAND Arroyo Center."--Title page.
• "Approved for public release; distribution unlimited."--Title page.
• "RR-298-A."--Page 4 of printed paper wrapper.

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references.

Funding (note)

• "The research described in this report was sponsored by the United States Army under Contract

Processing Action (note)

• committed to retain

Contents

Introduction -- Gaining Insights into Unstable, Conflict-Prone Environments Through Social Science Lenses -- Factors Associated with Environments Vulnerable to Conflict -- Relationships Among Factors: Peru and Nepal Case Studies -- Utilizing the Factors for Analysis -- Conclusion -- Appendix A: Factors from Joint and Army Doctrine -- Appendix A: Factor Matrix -- Appendix C: Cross-Matching 12 Factors with RAND Case Studies on 30 Counterinsurgencies.

ISBN

• 9780833081643 (pbk. : alk. paper)
• 0833081640 (pbk. : alk. paper)

LCCN

^^2013049319

OCLC

• 865452280
• SCSB-10315486

Owning Institutions

Harvard Library