Why Allies Rebel
Defiant Local Partners in Counterinsurgency Wars

Analysing thousands of policy documents from nine counterinsurgency wars, Elias asks why powerful militaries have difficulty managing local partners.

Barbara Elias (Author)

9781108748063, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 29 September 2022

351 pages, 15 b/w illus. 27 tables
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.9 cm, 0.473 kg

'Barbara Elias wrestles with one of the primary dilemmas that has faced American counterinsurgency efforts since World War II, how to get local partners to cooperate in doing everything that has been deemed necessary for success in the campaign. She demonstrates that this has been a common problem for any intervening force in such situations, and presents some guidelines to determine the potential for local compliance. There is much to ponder in this well-researched study for both policy-makers and practitioners.' Conrad C. Crane, author of Cassandra in Oz: Counterinsurgency and Future War

Why do powerful intervening militaries have such difficulty managing comparatively weak local partners in counterinsurgency wars? Set within the context of costly, large-scale military interventions such as the US war in Afghanistan, this book explains the conditions by which local allies comply with (or defy) the policy demands of larger security partners. Analysing nine large-scale post-colonial counterinsurgency interventions including Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, Sri Lanka, Yemen, Lebanon, Cambodia, and Angola, this book utilizes thousands of primary source documents to identify and examine over 450 policy requests proposed by intervening forces to local allies. By dissecting these problematic partnerships, this book exposes a critical political dynamic in military interventions. It will appeal to academics and policymakers addressing counterinsurgency issues in foreign policy, security studies and political science.

1. Introduction
2. Why local allies defy or comply with requests from intervening allies
3. Methodology: wars, documents and data
4. The US in Iraq
5. The US in Afghanistan
6. The US in Vietnam
7. India in Sri Lanka
8. The USSR in Afghanistan
9. When small states intervene
10. Conclusion.

Subject Areas: International humanitarian law [LBBS], International relations [JPS], Military history: post WW2 conflicts [HBWS]