Theory of Irregular War Cover

Theory of Irregular War

Jonathan W. Hackett

McFarland, Jefferson, North Carolina, 2023, 261 pages

Book Review published on: March 15, 2024

"You have the watches; we have the time.” (Afghan Proverb)

In Theory of Irregular War, Jonathan W. Hackett uses this proverb to pull the reader into a rich discussion of violent conflict between state and nonstate forces struggling for sovereignty. The author meticulously makes the case that the contemporary approach to war, and warfare, falls short in its understanding of irregular war, which the author defines as “a social act, a group expression through a dialectical process with a state,” and “the apotheosis of conflict between the people and the state, a violent dialectic between a faction and a sovereign expressed outside existing political institutions.” Through use of historical case studies, recent summary reports, and examination of United States military doctrine, Hackett builds his case that misunderstanding these facts directly contributed to the outcome of multiple conflicts of the past few hundred years, including the United States’ most recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Hackett sets the boundaries for his theoretical discussion by distancing irregular war from state versus state/conventional war, repeatedly stating that the Westphalian concept of state sovereignty is the wrong framework. He then uses several vignettes to distinguish war from warfare; as an example, he points out that guerilla warfare can be employed by either conventional or irregular forces in either a conventional or irregular war. He then introduces the concept of the “dysfunctional sovereign,” which is summed up as the antithesis of the way a people expect their sovereign to function. Sovereign dysfunction as an independent variable is key to the book as the author believes irregular wars often result from the relationship between dysfunctional sovereigns and their social orders, territories, and institutions.

After these introductory discussions, Hackett delves into existing theories of war from, among many others, Sun Tzu, Carl von Clausewitz, Mao Zedong and Vo Nguyen Giap. His argument then moves us into the present by identifying shortfalls in existing doctrinal approaches the United States takes in attempting to prevail in an irregular war using conventional forces and warfare. His review of U.S. military doctrine can be summarized in a single sentence: “U.S. military doctrine frames military strategy as either attack or defense of the state, yet irregular wars involve the violent transformation of an existing state from beneath the level of regular war characterized by Westphalian combat.” Based on my own experience, I found this to be a troublingly accurate observation.

To his credit, the author offers a solution after identifying a problem. He describes his titular theory through its component parts, specifically conditions and elements. Hackett’s conditions for irregular war are social order, sovereign territory, and political-economic institutions, with sovereign dysfunction as the independent variable which may impact each condition in such a way as to cause irregular war. He then describes the elements for an irregular war as people, politics, and propaganda. Hackett’s theory presents a daunting problem set for a conventional military force—particularly one that adheres to the Law of Armed Conflict—yet it is through this lens that irregular war should be viewed and accompanying strategy designed.

The strength of this book is the abundance of information Hackett uses to support his arguments. He does a superlative job documenting sources and explaining conceptual frameworks, mixing in numerous historical examples ranging from the Roman Empire to the recent war in Iraq. This does occasionally drown the reader in ancillary details that might have been best summarized and moved into supporting appendices, clearing the path for a more focused discussion of the main theme. However, Hackett’s approach does not diminish the overall value of the discussion.

Thoroughly indexed, with an extensive bibliography and detailed notes, Theory of Irregular War is a scholarly work that will be a useful reference to any student of conflict. The underpinning argument that doctrine based on a Westphalian concept of states can, and has, led to costly mistakes in war is compelling. While the style of writing caters to an academic audience, the ideas expressed by Hackett are broadly applicable in any theoretical discussion of either irregular or conventional war.

Book Review written by: Sean R. Kentch, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas