Counter-Insurgency
(DIP 600)
Patterson School
of Diplomacy and International Commerce
Spring 2011
Monday
1pm-3:30pm
Robert M. Farley
Office: Patterson 467
Office Hours:
Telephone: 859-533-0410
E-mail: robfarley@uky.edu
Introduction
DIP 600
(Counterinsurgency) introduces students to the historical and contemporary
literature on counter-insurgency, and the history of the development of
counter-insurgency theory. The course is designed to give future policymakers
and practitioners a foundation in counter-insurgency theory, such that they can
understand contemporary doctrinal debates. The course load assumes that
all students have read David Kilcullen’s The
Accidental Guerrilla, and that they will complete FM 3-24 by February 14.
Format
This course will be conducted as a graduate seminar, with minimal
lecture. I expect everyone to attend, have studied the readings,
and have a familiarity with current events. Any major reputable newspaper
will suffice for the latter, although I prefer the New York Times. I also expect that every student will
regularly read the blogs Small Wars Journal, Danger Room, Threat Matrix, Abu
Muqawama, and Democracy
Arsenal.
Grading
Grading will be based on
class participation (25%), and three 7-9 page analytical papers (25% each).
Each of the three 7-9 page
analytical papers must be typed and double-spaced. Please do not exceed
the page limit. Although specific topic is up to you, one paper should
have a regional focus, while the other should concentrate on a particular
nation-state. The papers need not hold to any particular format (policy
oriented memo, for example), but should be internally consistent in
focus. Additional research is welcome, and may be necessary for the
adequate presentation of some topics. One paper is due on the week of
your presentation (see below), one on the final day of the course, and one at
any time during the course other than those two dates.
You will be required to
make an oral presentation and defense of one analytical paper during
class. You must indicate to me a preference for which week to present by
the second week of the course, such that I can stagger presentations. The
presentation should last about fifteen minutes, and will be followed by a
fifteen minute question and answer period. The presentation will make up
50% of your participation grade, or 12.5% of the total grade.
The
papers will be evaluated on both content and presentation. Information
must be accurate, arguments must be well thought out, and style must be
compelling.
Class Materials
Purchase of the following books is strongly recommended.
John Nagl,
Learning to Eat Soup with a Knife
Sadie Jones, Small Wars: A Novel
David Ucko,
The New Counter-Insurgency Era: Transforming the US
Military for Modern Wars
Andrew Krepinevich,
The Army and Vietnam
Karl Marlantes, Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War
James Russell, Innovation,
Transformation, and War
Peter Mansoor, Baghdad at Sunrise
Antonio Giustozzi,
Koran, Kalashnikov, and Laptop
Thanassis Cambanis,
A Privilege to Die
Week 1: January 24: Introduction and
Foundations
David Galula,
Counter-insurgency Warfare: Theory and Practice
Laleh Khalili,
the New (and Old) Classics of Counter-Insurgency
Week 2: January 31: Foundations II
Roger Trinquier,
Modern Warfare
Sadie
Jones, Small Wars: A Novel
Week 3: February 7: COIN and
Organizational Learning I
John Nagl, Learning to Eat Soup with a Knife
Week 4: February 14 COIN and Organizational Learning II
David Ucko, The New Counter-Insurgency
Era: Transforming the US Military for Modern Wars
Gian Gentile,Time for the Deconstruction of Field Manual 3-24
Week 5: February 21 Vietnam
Andrew Krepinevich, The Army and Vietnam
Karl Marlantes, Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War
Week 6: February 28 Iraq I
James
Russell, Innovation, Transformation, and War
Speaker: Colonel James Crider
Week 7: March 7 Iraq II
Peter Mansoor, Baghdad at Sunrise
Speaker: Colonel Peter Mansoor
Week 8: March 21 Afghanistan I
Antonio Giustozzi, Koran,
Kalashnikov, and Laptop
Tony Corn, COIN in Absurdistan
Speaker: Brigadier General HR
McMaster
Week 9: March 28 Afghanistan II
Gregory
Feiffer, The Great Gamble: The Soviet War in
Afghanistan
Week 10: April 4 The Other Side:
Insurgents
Thanassis Cambanis,
A Privilege to Die
Jamie Hill, Che Guevara: An Exploration of Revolutionary Theory
Che Guevara, Guerrilla Warfare
Week 11: April 11 COIN
and Airpower
United States Air Force, Irregular
Warfare
Charles Dunlap, America’s Asymmetric
Advantage
Week 12: April 18 Journalism
and COIN
Michael Hastings, The
Runaway General
David Axe,
War is Boring
Speaker: Spencer Ackerman
Week 13: April 25: The Way Forward
Frank Hoffman, Conflict in the 21st
Century: The Rise of Hybrid Wars
Dunlap, Short Changing the Joint Fight
David Ucko,
Counter-Insurgency and its Discontents