text: Insurgency Prerequisites and Fundamentals
  financial aid to an insurgency. In such cases, commanders and staffs need to determine possible means to
  undermine this support. For example, the use of counter threat finance may prevent this funding. On the
  other hand, resourcing can be local. Insurgencies can have access to black markets or other resources that
  they can use to buy weapons. In these cases, stopping these transactions may be an effective means of
  blocking insurgent resources.
  4-26. An insurgency with state sponsorship has important advantages and disadvantages. State sponsorship
  can offer resources, sanctuary, and training. These are important advantages for any insurgency because
  they offer an insurgent group the ability to organize and become tactically and operationally more effective.
  On the other hand, state sponsorship can undermine the support of the local population. An insurgency that
  depends on outside state support can be perceived as artificial and may not have deep support from the
  local population. While recruits may join an insurgency by increased resources, recruits attracted because
  of the possibility of wealth may be less effective. However, if an insurgency uses outside support to build a
  political base before starting military operations, insurgents mitigate these risks. For the counterinsurgent,
  understanding the nature of state support allows the commander and staff to undermine that support before
  an insurgency begins.
  4-27. A group that already has resourcing could potentially become an insurgency. Groups tied to black
  markets, such as those selling drugs, may seek to resist or nullify the government’s ability to stop their
  activities. While they may exploit the population and create a root cause, the protection of their resources is
  the essential reason for the development of their insurgency. The means for an insurgency can play an
  interrelated role with the motive and opportunity.
  4-28. When commanders and staffs desire an additional method of analysis other than opportunity, motive,
  and means, the prerequisites of an insurgency can be represented as a vulnerable population, leadership for
  direction, and a lack of government control. A population is vulnerable if the people have real or perceived
  grievances that insurgents can exploit. Moreover, there must be an insurgent leadership element that can
  direct the frustrations of a vulnerable population. The insurgency must act on real or perceived lack of
  governmental control, which can allow insurgents to operate with little or no interference from security
  forces or other agencies. This means that the government is not providing for the people. This may refer to
  inadequate services or an overly harsh and repressive government. When all three exist in an area, an
  insurgency can operate with increased freedom of movement, gain the support of the people, and become
  entrenched over time.
  INSURGENCY FUNDAMENTALS
  4-29. Few insurgencies fit neatly into a rigid classification. However, insurgencies do have common
  characteristics that can provide a basis for building a more accurate picture of an insurgency and help
  commanders understand the situation. The fundamentals of insurgencies help commanders and staffs
  analyze insurgent strategies, objectives, and tactics. Each fundamental is important independently, but
  analyzing the interactions and relationships between the fundamentals as a whole is the key to
  understanding an insurgency. The two insurgency fundamentals are—
  * Insurgent strategies.
  * Dynamics of insurgency.
  INSURGENT STRATEGIES
  4-30. An insurgency’s strategy is determined by its own ends, ways, and means. There are a range of ends
  an insurgency might seek, to include replacing the state, separating from the state, changing the policy of
  the state, nullifying state control in an area of a state, and securing a place in a state’s political system.
  These basic ends will influence the ways an insurgency uses. However, that influence is not deterministic,
  and the way an insurgency fights is also influenced by its resourcing. In addition, the relationships between
  an insurgency’s ends, ways, and means is also influenced by numerous important variables. Those variables
  include but are not limited to—
  * How an insurgency gains legitimacy and controls a population.
  * Whether the insurgency is political centric, violence centric, or economic centric.
  * The relationship of the insurgency to the economy.