Asymmetry of will : the effect of religious radicalism on state military doctrine
Name
828629778-MIT.pdf
Description
Full printable version
Size
7.47 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
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fd282fb203aab4bb0da1be307257599d
Author(s)
Lewis, Patrick (Patrick Joseph)
Advisor(s)
Roger Petersen.
Alternative Title
Effect of religious radicalism on state military doctrine
Date Issued
2012
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abstract
How is a state's military doctrine affected by the presence of radical religious ideology in its military? Using analysis of satellite imagery, recent military exercises, and a series of source interviews, I examine the evolution of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. In particular I explore the effect of religious radicalism on Iran's acceptable casualty rates for its naval operations. A successful ideologically based strategy appears to have three necessary components: terrorism as a tool for pursuing political objectives, religious ideology as a generator of potential violence, and a regime which exercises tight control over the military. Combined, these factors allow a military to mobilize a large cadre of troops that are willing to sacrifice themselves in suicide operations. Ideology overcomes conventional acceptable casualty rates for sustained military sorties. Finally, I compare the Iranian case to similar militaries in the Sudan and Yugoslavia to determine how the presence and absence of each factor affects the military's development.
Description
Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Political Science, 2012.
DVD-ROM contains .mp4 video files, PDF and Word doc. files.
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references.
Subjects
Political Science.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Political Science
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