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Violent and Non-Violent Strategies of Counterinsurgency

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Abstract

Responses to insurgency include both a large-scale societal reform directed at improving the lives of civilians and a direct military response with no additional programs to improve civilian welfare. In this paper, we ask, what is the optimal combination of aid and military response from the viewpoint of the state? Using a computational model, we evaluate what mix of these two strategies helps the government defeat an insurgency more quickly. Our model yields that aid may boost a military strategy that avoids civilian casualties, but it may not compensate for a military strategy that targets civilians indiscriminately.

Suggested Citation

  • Anna O. Pechenkina & D. Scott Bennett, 2017. "Violent and Non-Violent Strategies of Counterinsurgency," Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation, Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation, vol. 20(4), pages 1-11.
    • Handle: RePEc:jas:jasssj:2016-186-3
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. John Agnew & Thomas W Gillespie & Jorge Gonzalez & Brian Min, 2008. "Baghdad Nights: Evaluating the US Military ‘Surge’ Using Nighttime Light Signatures," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 40(10), pages 2285-2295, October.
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    6. Moshe Kress & Roberto Szechtman, 2009. "Why Defeating Insurgencies Is Hard: The Effect of Intelligence in Counterinsurgency Operations---A Best-Case Scenario," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 57(3), pages 578-585, June.
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    Cited by:

    1. Tamsin E. Lee, 2018. "The Thin Blue Line Between Protesters and Their Counter-Protesters," Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation, Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation, vol. 21(2), pages 1-10.

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