Enhancing counterinsurgency operations
Due to mixed results in recent years, conventional combat is giving way to counterinsurgency – protecting civilians and relying on them to provide information on enemy activity. However, little has been written about the reasons for and impact of counterinsurgencies. The EU-funded COINTRPE (When battlefield success leads to effective counterinsurgency: Searching for a cross-regional theory) project set out to address the factors involved in the success or failure of counterinsurgencies. To address this issue, the project mainly carried out a series of case studies on Peru and Turkey. The aim was to identify how the two countries can effectively confront insurgent organisations and halt conflict and fighting. Military campaigns in Peru were successful in destabilising insurgencies, unlike Turkey. Research revealed that Turkey failed to weaken the insurgency's organisational structure and destabilise its regional and local ties. These results were used as a basis for further case studies concerning past conflicts in Russia, Sri Lanka and the United Kingdom. All three used military force in an attempt to defeat insurgents, with varying degrees of success. Findings are consistent with results from the Peru and Turkey studies. COINTRPE attempted to understand what lies at the heart of insurgencies that can lead to a notable lessening of violence and conflict. Military efforts must be combined with on-the-ground diplomacy that focuses on political, social and economic approaches to defeat the enemy.
Keywords
Counterinsurgency, wars, insurgency, conflict, military campaigns
