The Strategic Imperative: USASOC's Role in Advancing Civil Resistance Movements during Irregular Warfare

Abstract

As the Army transitions toward prioritizing large-scale combat operations and multidomain operations (MDO), the threshold for entering conventional military conflict rises and calls into question the efficacy of conventional military approaches, particularly in addressing nonstate actors and asymmetric threats. U.S. Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) has emerged as the Army’s most pivotal actor in countering complex threats in a dynamic operational environment.

By leveraging USASOC’s unique skills and capabilities, the Army can impose costs upon adversaries below the threshold of armed conflict. However, as USASOC trains to remain proficient in its core activities, a capability gap exists within the unconventional warfare enterprise. While Special Forces soldiers are experts in advising guerilla military forces to conduct armed resistance movements, the persistent rise in civil resistance movements to challenge oppressive authority is a domain USASOC cannot ignore. This article advocates for USASOC to integrate a mission to advise civil resistance movements as part of the unconventional warfare strategy.

As part of the irregular warfare mission set, unconventional warfare requires high flexibility and ingenuity to achieve mission success. Following the Arab Spring uprisings in the early 2010s, the ubiquitous nature of technology has lowered the bar for entry to challenge authoritarian regimes. Resistance movements no longer require guerilla militias to operate as the decisive force for overthrowing regimes. On the contrary, according to academic researchers, civil resistance movements are four times more effective than armed resistance movements and create a more sustainable replacement government.1 This article first contextualizes the problem by demonstrating the capability gap. Then, it explains civil resistance movements and crucial operating concepts such as the mechanisms for change, civil resistance planning structures, tactics, and the Spectrum of Allies. Finally, it identifies the organizations best suited for developing expertise in civil resistance movements, thereby providing a framework to assume the mission set in a manner that supports and enables unconventional warfare.