Jeffrey Record, "Beating Goliath: Why Insurgencies Win"
English | ISBN: 1597970905 | 2007 | 192 pages | PDF | 779 KB
Beating Goliath examines the phenomenon of victories by the weak over the strong-more specifically, insurgencies that succeeded against great powers. Jeffrey Record reviews eleven insurgent wars from 1775 to the present and determines why the seemingly weaker side won. He concludes that external assistance correlates more consistently with insurgent success than any other explanation. He does not disparage the critical importance of will, strategy, and strong-side regime type or suggest that external assistance guarantees success. Indeed, in all cases, some combination of these factors is usually present. But Record finds few if any cases of unassisted insurgent victories except against the most decrepit regimes.