Non-State Special Operations: Capabilities and Effects

This book examines how violent non-state actors (VNSAs) emulate and develop military special operation capabilities.

Building on previous research on Islamic State special operations, the book develops a theoretical framework surrounding a typology of VNSA (militants, proxies, criminal/cults, and mercenaries) to explore variations of non-state special operations, with multiple cases for each category of actor. Understanding when and why VNSAs use special operations provides insights into the inner workings of such groups and how they campaign and also has implications for the proliferation of special operation forces around the globe and its influence on non-state behavior. This volume contributes to research on the recent trend of non-state actors surprising, and in some cases humiliating, their state opponents.

This book will be of much interest to students of military and strategic studies, defense studies, and security studies.

Ian Rice is an adjunct Senior Lecturer in the Department of Defense Analysis, Naval Postgraduate School, adjunct faculty member with the College of Distance Education, USMC University, and a guest lecturer with the Royal Danish Defence College. He is a retired US Army officer who served with special operations forces.

Craig Whiteside is Professor of National Security Affairs at the US Naval War College resident program at the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California. He is the co-author of The ISIS Reader: Milestone Texts of the Islamic State Movement (2020). He has a PhD in Political Science from Washington State University and is a former US Army infantry officer.