Episode 143 examines what enables guerrilla and insurgent forces to develop military effectiveness on the battlefield.
Our guests discuss why ideological cohesion, social ties, and material resources are insufficient for insurgents to successfully implement guerrilla strategies. Drawing on historical examples and a detailed analysis of the Taliban’s evolution in Afghanistan, they argue that success depends on the professionalization of the force. This includes the recruitment, training, and empowerment of skilled small-unit combat leaders. These leaders enable effective planning, realistic training, adaptation, and task-oriented cohesion. The conversation explores broader implications for understanding insurgencies, counterinsurgency challenges, and security force assistance program
General (Ret.) Stan McChrystal is a retired U.S. Army four-star general, former commander of Joint Special Operations Command and International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, founder of the McChrystal Group, and author of multiple books.
Dr. Alec Worsnop is an Assistant Professor at the University of Maryland’s School of Public Policy and a Non-Resident Fellow at the Modern War Institute. His research focuses on insurgent military effectiveness. This episode is based on his recent book titled Rebels in the Field: Cadres and the Development of Insurgent Military Power published by Oxford University Press.
Kyle Atwell and Alisa Laufer are the hosts for episode 143. Please reach out to them with any questions about the episode or IWI.
The Irregular Warfare Podcast is a production of the Irregular Warfare Initiative (IWI). We are a team of volunteers dedicated to bridging the gap between scholars and practitioners in the field of irregular warfare. IWI generates written and audio content and coordinates events for the IW community. It also hosts critical thinkers in the field of irregular warfare as IWI fellows. You can follow and engage with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, or LinkedIn.
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All views expressed in this episode are the personal views of the participants and do not represent those of any government agency or of the Empirical Studies of Conflict Project.
Intro music: “Unsilenced” by Ketsa
Outro music: “Launch” by Ketsa
Picture courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
John says
Hahaha our GOFOs were outclassed again. What makes your enemy successful in an IW war. Easy they establish and use parallel hierarchies in the different pillars of the local society to help manipulate the weapons systems of these kinds of war. The weapons systems in these kinds of wars are the different sections of the HN population.
McCrystal read two fictional books on the French approach to IW and did not remember that they lost both times. He should have read Fall, Giap, Mao and some others.
Please google “The Taliban use of Parallel Hierarchies and the Strategic Failure of the U.S.”
Please read “A Century of Conflict “ by Stephen Possony and “The Organizational Weapon” by Philip Selznick”
If you read Mao, don’t read “On Guerrilla Warfare” (a bad set of Cliff Notes by an American where tons gets lost in translation) read Mao’s works on Military Affairs
DOL