{"product_id":"armed-groups-the-twenty-first-century-threat-9781538168639","title":"Armed Groups: The Twenty-First-Century Threat","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eArmed Groups­ is the most comprehensive text to provide a framework for categorizing the key actors that pose a threat to today’s security arena—terrorists, mercenaries, insurgents, militias, and transnational criminal organizations—and analyzing their characteristics to provide a thorough overview. Drawing on case studies, histories, and a rich, yet underexplored theoretical literature, this study presents students with the tools to methodically examine these often overlooked, but key drivers of violence in the international system. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAdditionally, globalization, the privatization of force, and the return of great power competition have altered the security landscape and enhanced armed group threats. These forces have also led to an increasing overlap between conflict and crime, and a growth in the state use of armed group proxies. Coming to terms with armed groups—their objectives, strategies, internal composition, and the environment that fosters them—remains a critical task for practitioners, scholars, and policy makers alike in understanding the changing nature of war.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis second edition, updated throughout, includes new material on the importance of private military companies, the shift to sub-Saharan Africa as an important center of conflict, the return of great power politics, the increased use of social media and advanced technology, and the increasingly criminalized nature of armed groups.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e1. Introduction \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eImportance of the Topic \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhat Are “Armed Groups”? \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBook Objectives \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eArmed Groups and International Relations Theory \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eConclusion \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDiscussion Questions \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRecommended Reading \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNotes \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e2. Conflict in the Twenty-First Century \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eInterstate Conflict Decreasing \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe “New War” Paradigm? \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIrregular Warfare \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRole of Geopolitical and Geostrategic Factors \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eUS Participation in Intrastate Conflicts \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eArmed-Group Threats to the United States \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDiscussion Questions \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRecommended Readings \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNotes \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e3. What Are Armed Groups? \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDistinguishing Between Armed Groups and State Militaries \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCommon Armed-Group Characteristics \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eArmed-Group Formation \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChallenging the “Nonstate Actor” Label \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDiscussion Questions\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOrganization \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMembership \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIdeology \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eObjectives \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDiscussion Questions \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRecommended Readings \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNotes \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e4. Armed-Group Archetypes \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eInsurgents \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTerrorists \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTransnational Criminal Organizations \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMilitias \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Commercial” Armed Groups \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEvolution, “Hybridization,” and the Crime–Terror Nexus \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDiscussion Questions \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRecommended Readings \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNotes \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e5. Internal Characteristics \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLeadership \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOrganization \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMembership \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIdeology \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eObjectives \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDiscussion Questions \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRecommended Readings \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNotes\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e6. External Characteristics \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eStrategy \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTactics \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eStrategic Communications \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eExternal Support \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDiscussion Questions \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRecommended Readings \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNotes \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e7. Combating Armed Groups \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCombating Grievances and the Environment \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMilitary, Political, Legal, and Economic Constraints on Governments \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGeneral Countering Strategies \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCombating the Armed Group \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eConclusion \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDiscussion Questions \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRecommended Readings \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNotes \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e8. Conclusion \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eArmed-Group Adaptation and Evolution \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFuture Armed-Group Threats\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCombating Armed Groups \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThree Questions\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRecommended Readings \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNotes\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Rowman \u0026 Littlefield","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51041231896919,"sku":"9781538168639","price":84.6,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781538168639.jpg?v=1750949446","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/armed-groups-the-twenty-first-century-threat-9781538168639","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}