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"Draining the Sea or Feeding the Fire?": The Use of Population Relocation in Counterinsurgency Operations |
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Abstract:
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There exists a widespread perception that the recurrent and cascading episodes of ethnic cleansing witnessed in the Balkans in the 1990s represented something new and novel. However, the uncomfortable fact is that both states and non-state actors have long utilized population displacement as a tactical weapon against their adversaries. In the context of counter-insurgency operations, states have been particularly prone to use “regroupment camps” or “strategic hamlets” in order to—in Mao’s terms—“drain the sea” of water (civilians) to expose and kill the fish (guerrillas). Nevertheless, despite the frequency of its employment, the historical evidence on the efficacy of regroupment as a tactical weapon is mixed at best. in short, evidence suggests that—except under a very circumscribed set of conditions—the long-term political and military costs of using forced migration as a tool of counter-insurgency tend to outweigh the short-term military benefits.
The continued pervasiveness of population relocation in counterinsurgency operations in the face of myriad failures raises several obvious questions: First, why does it remain such a popular tactic, despite its problematic track record? Second, given that relocation schemes sometimes do succeed, is there a potentially generalizable theory about the conditions under which they will succeed and fail that can explain divergent outcomes? If so, what are these conditions? Or, alternatively—as some have argued—must each insurgency be viewed sui generis? Using evidence from a variety of historical counterinsurgency operations—over time and across the globe—this paper proposes two sets of hypotheses to answer these questions and offers some preliminary tests of them. |
Most Common Document Word Stems:
popul (98), counterinsurg (89), insurg (82), resettl (81), success (60), support (52), reloc (52), use (52), villag (47), peopl (45), one (43), 24 (39), fire (39), drain (39), 6 (39), sea (39), 23 (39), feed (38), govern (38), even (37), british (37), |
Author's Keywords:
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counterinsurgency, asymmetric warfare, insurgency, civil wars, guerrilla, refugees, strategic hamlets, regroupment, rebellion, brutality |
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Association:
Name: American Political Science Association
URL: http://www.apsanet.org
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Citation:
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MLA Citation:
| Greenhill, Kelly. ""Draining the Sea or Feeding the Fire?": The Use of Population Relocation in Counterinsurgency Operations" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Hilton Chicago and the Palmer House Hilton, Chicago, IL, Sep 02, 2004 <Not Available>. 2009-05-26 <http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p59975_index.html> |
APA Citation:
| Greenhill, K. M. , 2004-09-02 ""Draining the Sea or Feeding the Fire?": The Use of Population Relocation in Counterinsurgency Operations" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Hilton Chicago and the Palmer House Hilton, Chicago, IL Online <.PDF>. 2009-05-26 from http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p59975_index.html |
Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: There exists a widespread perception that the recurrent and cascading episodes of ethnic cleansing witnessed in the Balkans in the 1990s represented something new and novel. However, the uncomfortable fact is that both states and non-state actors have long utilized population displacement as a tactical weapon against their adversaries. In the context of counter-insurgency operations, states have been particularly prone to use “regroupment camps” or “strategic hamlets” in order to—in Mao’s terms—“drain the sea” of water (civilians) to expose and kill the fish (guerrillas). Nevertheless, despite the frequency of its employment, the historical evidence on the efficacy of regroupment as a tactical weapon is mixed at best. in short, evidence suggests that—except under a very circumscribed set of conditions—the long-term political and military costs of using forced migration as a tool of counter-insurgency tend to outweigh the short-term military benefits.
The continued pervasiveness of population relocation in counterinsurgency operations in the face of myriad failures raises several obvious questions: First, why does it remain such a popular tactic, despite its problematic track record? Second, given that relocation schemes sometimes do succeed, is there a potentially generalizable theory about the conditions under which they will succeed and fail that can explain divergent outcomes? If so, what are these conditions? Or, alternatively—as some have argued—must each insurgency be viewed sui generis? Using evidence from a variety of historical counterinsurgency operations—over time and across the globe—this paper proposes two sets of hypotheses to answer these questions and offers some preliminary tests of them. |
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| Document Type: |
.pdf |
| Page count: |
43 |
| Word count: |
18767 |
| Text sample: |
| DRAINING THE SEA OR FEEDING THE FIRE Draining the Sea or Feeding the Fire?: The Use of Population Relocation in Counterinsurgency Operations [1] Kelly M. Greenhill Post-doctoral Research Fellow Center for International Security and Cooperation Stanford University [2] Control of the masses…is the master weapon of modern warfare.” Introduction It is generally agreed that conducting successful counterinsurgency operations requires a different set of strategies and tactics than is true in conventional warfare. Most importantly counterinsurgency operations require a focus |
| Ibid. [166] Ibid. [167] For a similar conclusion drawn from single (or few) cases see for instance Bender “The Limits of Counterinsurgency”; Jundanian “Counterinsurgency in Mozambique " and Shafer "Unlearned Lessons.” [168] Peter Braestrup "Partisan Tactics-Algerian Style " Army Magazine (August 1960); reprinted in Mark Osanka (ed.) Modern Guerrilla Warfare (New York 1962). [169] Mark Oliva “Marines transition from fight to reaching out to Iraqi citizens ” Marine Corps News May 4 2004; available at: www.globalsecurity.org/military/ library/news/2004/05/mil-040504-mcn02.htm. [170] Thompson |
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