In this age of asymmetric warfare, battles are fought more and more against armed groups of opponents such as terrorists, insurgents, or transnational criminal organizations. This text is the first to categorize armed groups and analyze their characteristics in a systematic way to provide a thorough overview of all types of armed groups and the role they play in todays security environment.Drawing on international case studies and histories, the work analyzes the objectives, strategies, and internal composition of armed groups and the environments that foster them. It demonstrates that armed groups often behave in an hybrid fashion, be it the criminal actions terrorists groups take to fund their goals or the role terrorist actions play in criminal organizations. As such dividing lines blur, governments need to figure out how, where, and when these armed groups are operating in zones of conflict or peace, as well as their motivations, structures, and ultimate objectives.This thorough and groundbreaking study will provide students with a strategic view of who armed groups are, how to analyze them, and what geopolitical and geostrategic factors influence their origins and operations.

Peter G. Thompson is associate professor of international security studies at the College of International Security Affairs, National Defense University, Washington, DC.

1. IntroductionImportance of the TopicWhat Are Armed Groups?Book ObjectivesArmed Groups and International Relations TheoryConclusionDiscussion QuestionsRecommended ReadingNotes2. Conflict in the Twenty-First CenturyInterstate Conflict DecreasingThe New War Paradigm?Irregular WarfareRole of Geopolitical and Geostrategic FactorsUS Participation in Intrastate ConflictsArmed-Group Threats to the United StatesDiscussion QuestionsRecommended ReadingsNotes3. What Are Armed Groups?Distinguishing Between Armed Groups and State MilitariesCommon Armed-Group CharacteristicsArmed-Group FormationChallenging the Nonstate Actor LabelDiscussion QuestionsOrganizationMembershipIdeologyObjectivesDiscussion QuestionsRecommended ReadingsNotes4. Armed-Group ArchetypesInsurgentsTerroristsTransnational Criminal OrganizationsMilitiasCommercial Armed GroupsEvolution, Hybridization, and the CrimeTerror NexusDiscussion QuestionsRecommended ReadingsNotes5. Internal CharacteristicsLeadershipOrganizationMembershipIdeologyObjectivesDiscussion QuestionsRecommended ReadingsNotes6. External CharacteristicsStrategyTacticsStrategic CommunicationsExternal SupportDiscussion QuestionsRecommended ReadingsNotes7. Combating Armed GroupsCombating Grievances and the EnvironmentMilitary, Political, Legal, and Economic Constraints on GovernmentsGeneral Countering StrategiesCombating the Armed GroupConclusionDiscussion QuestionsRecommended ReadingsNotes8. ConclusionArmed-Group Adaptation and EvolutionFuture Armed-Group ThreatsCombating Armed GroupsThree QuestionsRecommended ReadingsNotesBibliographyIndex