'Soft' Counterinsurgency reviews the promise and actual achievement of Human Terrain Teams, the small groups of social scientists that were eventually embedded in every combat brigade in Iraq and Afghanistan. The book, based on interviews with both HTT personnel and their military commanders, examines the military's need for sociocultural information, the ethical issues surrounding research carried out in combat zones, and the tensions between military and social science organizational cultures. The account provides a close, detailed account of HTT activities, a critical reflection on the possibilities of creating a 'softer,' less violent counterinsurgency, and the difficulty of attempting to make war more 'intelligent' and discriminating.
- ISBN10 1137401818
- ISBN13 9781137401816
- Publish Date 16 July 2014
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country GB
- Publisher Palgrave Macmillan
- Imprint Palgrave Pivot
- Format eBook
- Pages 144
- Language English