The Logic of Irregular War

Asymmetry and Americas Adversaries

Edited by Ilan Berman

Publication date:

10 November 2017

Length of book:

128 pages

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

ISBN-13: 9781538105412

For the United States, asymmetric warfare has emerged as the “new normal.” The large-scale conventional campaigns that typified U.S. military engagements for much of the 20th Century are increasingly things of the past. Instead, the quarter-century since the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the U.S.-Soviet balance of power has seen irregular war truly come of age, with more and more hostile nations pursuing asymmetric means in order to secure the strategic advantage vis-à-vis the United States. In this volume, a group of leading national security practitioners and subject matter experts comes together to analyze the asymmetric strategies being pursued today by America’s main state-based adversaries—Russia, China, Iran and North Korea—and to explore how U.S. policymakers can respond more effectively to them.

Introduction: Thinking about Asymmetry, by Ilan Berman

Chapter 1: The Chinese Way of Asymmetric War, by Larry M. Wortzel
Chapter 2: Russia’s Asymmetric Strategy for Contemporary and Future War, by Stephen Blank
Chapter 3: The Strategies and Methods of Iranian Asymmetric War, by Ladan Yazdian
Chapter 4: The Asymmetric Strategies of the DPRK, by Daniel A. Pinkston

Conclusion: Adapting to Asymmetry, by Ilan Berman

List of Contributors

The five well-informed contributors to this slender volume bring varied backgrounds to asymmetric warfare. They have filled a variety of government, academic, and think-tank positions. Berman’s historical introduction underscores the global nature of such wars. Irregular war “is as old as conflict itself.” However, it “came of age” only at the end of the Cold War. Contemporary weaponry has made asymmetric wars far more lethal. The four countries examined in detail adopt differing approaches. China’s strategy involves “adaptation of traditional means of operational confrontation.” Basic strategy dates to Sun Tzu around 500 BCE. Major updates have come in political work, cyber-warfare, and other electronic advances. Russian leaders stress a “persistent siege mentality.” Information warfare, covert and overt military involvement in “near abroad” states, and electronic-pulse magnetism constitute major initiatives. Iran’s strategy revolves around Persian Gulf security, defense needs, and oil revenues. The need for self-sufficiency because of war with Iraq and sanctions have bolstered stress on cyber-warfare and nuclear capability. Finally, North Korea (the DPRK) remains “locked in a zero-sum rivalry” with South Korea. Success in developing missile-based nuclear weapons reflects the DPRK’s subordination of civilian priorities. All in all, a sobering, informative book. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty