text: Culture
  3-10. All cultures have a unique and interdependent connection with their physical surroundings. The
  physical environment (including climate, terrain, and resources) influences the people living in it by
  providing a range of possibilities within which they act. People shape their environment by the choices they
  make, creating a cultural landscape which reflects their social, cultural, economic, and political attitudes. A
  careful reading, or interpretation, of the cultural landscape can provide useful information about the people
  who create it, use it, and live in it. A military presence in an area of operations will affect a local population
  and its use of the physical environment. For example, Marines and Soldiers may inadvertently divert or
  impede access to resources, such as water or food, which in turn may cause real shortages or upset the
  balance of power by allowing greater access to these resources by one group and harming another.
  Counterinsurgency planners need to anticipate how their operations will impact local populations and their
  use of their environment and recognize that since use of the environment is cultural, these impacts may
  significantly differ from what might be expected in the U.S.
  3-11. All cultures have specific systems for obtaining, producing, and distributing items people need to
  survive (for example, food, water, and shelter) or luxuries and material things. This system, which does not
  necessarily require money or a banking system, is called the economy of a culture. Frequently, insurgents
  use the informal economy to obtain funding and support for their activities. Another aspect of the economic
  system that is often overlooked is the concept of reciprocity, which is an exchange between people that
  creates a relationship. Although in Western cultures exchange usually involves the exchange of goods and
  services of equal monetary value, in other parts of the world exchange may be only partly about what
  people expect regarding goods and services and also partly about building working relationships. If
  Marines and Soldiers fail to see what the local people expect from the exchange, to include its impact on
  interpersonal relationships, it will be hard for them to understand or anticipate people’s behavior.
  3-12. In all cultures, people hold differing positions of status and power, often closely related to their roles
  in a group. In the military, for example, one’s status and power is based on rank. Depending on a person’s
  rank, a person fills different roles in an organization. The way that a group distinguishes among its
  members according to their role, status, and power is reflected in its social structure. A person’s position in
  the social structure may depend on many factors, including age, gender, class, family name, tribal
  membership, ethnicity, religious identity, and even rank. In conflict environments, differing groups (for
  example, ethnic, religious, or tribal) may each vie for power, often looking to outside militaries to support
  them. In counterinsurgency operations, it is essential that military leaders understand which social groups
  have traditionally held power in an area of operations. Otherwise, they are likely to be drawn into power
  struggles among competing groups, and possibly even unwittingly end up aiding the insurgents. A concept
  central to one’s place in society is that of identity. Identity is a broad term used to describe how people
  conceive of themselves and how they are perceived by others. Identity shapes how people view themselves
  and the world. Understanding identity is complex because people have multiple identities. In times of
  conflict, people may choose to emphasize certain group identities such as nationality or religion, while at
  other times different identities, such as one’s profession or gender, may matter more. Social structure and
  identity are extremely important concepts for counterinsurgency planners and operators to understand, as
  they affect people’s allegiances and influence how groups and individuals will interpret and respond to U.S.
  actions.
  3-13. In all cultures, people have a system that determines who leads the group and who makes decisions
  about its welfare. Although people in the U.S. use an electoral system to select their leaders, this is not the
  case in many other countries. In many places around the world, even when the official government is
  elected, the local population may not view that government as legitimate or effective. In fact, one of the
  primary motivations for people to support an insurgency is their sense that the official or formal
  government has failed to provide for their needs. Frequently, insurgents may be providing a “shadow
  government” which replaces and competes with the official government in certain parts of the country.
  Shadow governments are one example of informal leadership. In most areas of operations, Marines and
  Soldiers will find that communities or groups are influenced by a variety of leaders, most of whom are not
  part of the government. In some areas, religious leaders may have great influence. In others, people may
  look to tribal leaders or respected individuals within their ethnic group. Business leaders and warlords often
  have great power and influence too. To be successful in counterinsurgency operations, military members
  need to quickly and accurately identify the various community leaders and develop strategies to work with