Insurgent Design: Re-Emergence of Al-Qa'ida from 9/11 to the Present - Syria, South Asia, Warfare Technology, Enterprise in a Jihadi Market, Exploiting Emergent Battlefields, Federated Macro Structure

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Political Science
Cover of the book Insurgent Design: Re-Emergence of Al-Qa'ida from 9/11 to the Present - Syria, South Asia, Warfare Technology, Enterprise in a Jihadi Market, Exploiting Emergent Battlefields, Federated Macro Structure by Progressive Management, Progressive Management
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Progressive Management ISBN: 9781370726134
Publisher: Progressive Management Publication: December 16, 2016
Imprint: Smashwords Edition Language: English
Author: Progressive Management
ISBN: 9781370726134
Publisher: Progressive Management
Publication: December 16, 2016
Imprint: Smashwords Edition
Language: English

This excellent report has been professionally converted for accurate flowing-text e-book format reproduction. Analysts disagree on how to characterize al-Qa'ida's evolution. One perspective regards jihadi-Islamism in general to be self-marginalizing. A second perspective describes a merging of discrete jihadist grand strategies that is considered symptomatic of the decline of al-Qa'ida and its allies. A third finds that al-Qa'ida is gathering strength. This study expands upon the gathering strength perspective, contending that al-Qa'ida's successes are derived from its design orientation and competence. Al-Qa'ida agents have vigorously redesigned their transnational system to adapt to a profoundly hostile and unpredictable environment. For al-Qa'ida and its brethren, the highest rate of adaptation is occurring on the battlefield, as they experiment with varied technologies of warfare, rather than in debate over grand strategic ideas. Where before there were fleeting, desultory actions by terroristic cells, now maturing organizations vie for territorial control, establishing jihadi emirates and proto-states. To respond effectively to the situation, Western understanding of al-Qa'ida and the wider system of jihadi-Islamist insurgency must evolve apace.

The application of a design lens to the study of al-Qa'ida contributes to improved understanding of the organization's persistence and pattern of re-emergence. It also illuminates how the United States ought to respond to the challenges posed by al-Qa'ida and other jihadi-Islamist groups in the future. The implications of al-Qa'ida's design orientation and competence are numerous. First, al-Qa'ida design agents work within an increasingly expansive, energetic and competitive jihadi market—where competition stands to both fragment and advance collective jihadist causes. Second, the broad field of jihadi-Islamism—in which al-Qa'ida played a leading role for the better part of a decade and half—displays characteristics of a complex adaptive system that is self-organizing and co-evolving with its environment.

Third, it appears that al-Qa'ida's evolution over the last decade-and-a-half is analogous—albeit at a sub-state, inter-organizational level—to the process of state formation through warfare articulated by Charles Tilly in 1992. Whereas Tilly articulates how "war makes states and states make war,"8 in this case, jihadist organizations make insurgency and insurgency makes organizations that are more robust. Increasingly these organizations manifest state-like characteristics in the territories in which they operate—a phenomenon that is not restricted to the self-declared Islamic State, itself an al-Qa'ida offshoot. To contend with an emergent jihadi-Islamist insurgency effectively, Western understanding of the Qa'ida phenomenon is compelled to evolve apace.

This study is organized as follows: the first section reviews existing perspectives on how to characterize al-Qa'ida's evolution; the second elaborates on the design approach, and then proceeds with an examination of the Qa'ida organization's design competence; and the third presents implications of that examination.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

This excellent report has been professionally converted for accurate flowing-text e-book format reproduction. Analysts disagree on how to characterize al-Qa'ida's evolution. One perspective regards jihadi-Islamism in general to be self-marginalizing. A second perspective describes a merging of discrete jihadist grand strategies that is considered symptomatic of the decline of al-Qa'ida and its allies. A third finds that al-Qa'ida is gathering strength. This study expands upon the gathering strength perspective, contending that al-Qa'ida's successes are derived from its design orientation and competence. Al-Qa'ida agents have vigorously redesigned their transnational system to adapt to a profoundly hostile and unpredictable environment. For al-Qa'ida and its brethren, the highest rate of adaptation is occurring on the battlefield, as they experiment with varied technologies of warfare, rather than in debate over grand strategic ideas. Where before there were fleeting, desultory actions by terroristic cells, now maturing organizations vie for territorial control, establishing jihadi emirates and proto-states. To respond effectively to the situation, Western understanding of al-Qa'ida and the wider system of jihadi-Islamist insurgency must evolve apace.

The application of a design lens to the study of al-Qa'ida contributes to improved understanding of the organization's persistence and pattern of re-emergence. It also illuminates how the United States ought to respond to the challenges posed by al-Qa'ida and other jihadi-Islamist groups in the future. The implications of al-Qa'ida's design orientation and competence are numerous. First, al-Qa'ida design agents work within an increasingly expansive, energetic and competitive jihadi market—where competition stands to both fragment and advance collective jihadist causes. Second, the broad field of jihadi-Islamism—in which al-Qa'ida played a leading role for the better part of a decade and half—displays characteristics of a complex adaptive system that is self-organizing and co-evolving with its environment.

Third, it appears that al-Qa'ida's evolution over the last decade-and-a-half is analogous—albeit at a sub-state, inter-organizational level—to the process of state formation through warfare articulated by Charles Tilly in 1992. Whereas Tilly articulates how "war makes states and states make war,"8 in this case, jihadist organizations make insurgency and insurgency makes organizations that are more robust. Increasingly these organizations manifest state-like characteristics in the territories in which they operate—a phenomenon that is not restricted to the self-declared Islamic State, itself an al-Qa'ida offshoot. To contend with an emergent jihadi-Islamist insurgency effectively, Western understanding of the Qa'ida phenomenon is compelled to evolve apace.

This study is organized as follows: the first section reviews existing perspectives on how to characterize al-Qa'ida's evolution; the second elaborates on the design approach, and then proceeds with an examination of the Qa'ida organization's design competence; and the third presents implications of that examination.

More books from Progressive Management

Cover of the book 21st Century FEMA Study Course: National Incident Management System (NIMS) Public Information (IS-702.a) - JIS, Public Information Officer (PIO), Voices of Experience, Lessons Learned by Progressive Management
Cover of the book 21st Century U.S. Military Manuals: U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) The Individual's Guide for Understanding and Surviving Terrorism - Marine Corps Reference Publication (MCRP) 3-02E by Progressive Management
Cover of the book 21st Century U.S. Military Manuals: The Operations Process - 2012 Army Doctrine Reference Publication ADRP 5-0, Planning, Preparing, Executing (Professional Format Series) by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Countering a Chinese Coercive Campaign Against Taiwan: China's Preferred Military Option, U.S. Operational Response, PRC PLA Plans and Actions, Taiwan Relations Act, Joint Blockade Campaign by Progressive Management
Cover of the book The Russian Navy: A Historic Transition - Official U.S. Navy Intelligence Report on New Developments Shaping Russia's Navy and Operations in the 21st Century, Review of Ships, Weapons, Leadership by Progressive Management
Cover of the book The Role of Federal Military Forces in Domestic Disorders 1945-1992: Riots, Civil Rights, Vietnam War Demonstrations, Kent State, Martin Luther King, March on Washington, Kennedy and Johnson by Progressive Management
Cover of the book The Small War Manual (SWM) and Marine Corps Military Operations Other than War Doctrine - Relevance in the 21st Century, MOOTW, Operational History, World War II by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Air Force Doctrine Document 3-22: Foreign Internal Defense - Counterinsurgency, Indirect Support, Trainer-Advisor Teams, Revolutionary Movements, Insurgencies, El Salvador, Philippines, Cambodia by Progressive Management
Cover of the book The 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing in Desert Shield and Desert Storm: U.S. Marines in the Persian Gulf, 1990-1991 - Defense of Eastern Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, CentCom, SCUDs, Khafji, Al Jaber, Heliborne by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Joint Operations in the Gulf War: An Allison Analysis of Behavior - Rational, Organizational, Bureaucratic Process, Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Battlefield Preparation, Deep Strike Coordination by Progressive Management
Cover of the book An Examination of Marine Corps Energy Initiatives and the Supporting Manpower Force Structure - Military Occupational Specialty (MOS), Expeditionary Energy Office, Energy Reduction Plans by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Theater Battle Management Core System Systems Engineering Case Study: History and Details of TBMCS Integrated Air Command and Control System by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Flight Plight: An Examination of Contemporary Humanitarian Immigration from Honduras, Cuba, and Syria to the United States with Considerations for National Security - Cuban Adjustment Act, ICE, Visas by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Apollo and America's Moon Landing Program: Managing NASA in the Apollo Era - From the Fire to Apollo 11, Headquarters Organization, Acquisition Process, Manpower, Budgetary Process, DoD Relations by Progressive Management
Cover of the book History of the Rocky Flats Plant: Nuclear Weapons Production Facility, Colorado, Atomic Bomb Components, Plutonium Contamination Issues, Environmental and Safety Concerns, Shutdown and Cleanup by Progressive Management
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy