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Asymmetric Warfare

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Patrick A. Mello
Technische Universität München
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 Asymmetric Warfare
October 1, 2014

The Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology, edited by George Ritzer,

2nd edition, Malden: Wiley-Blackwell (forthcoming)

http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2571255

Abstract:
Asymmetric warfare is commonly defined as a mode of combat where the aims, means, or
methods of the conflict parties are substantively dissimilar. Most scholars further presume a
gaping power disparity between the warring parties in asymmetric conflicts. However, a two-
fold distinction can be made, separating asymmetry of strength from asymmetry of weakness.
The former rests on an actor’s ability to play to its own strengths, most often through superior
technology and military capability. The latter refers to a strategy that seeks to exploit an
opponent’s weaknesses, often through indirect and drawn out warfare (Münkler 2006). While
narrow conceptions of asymmetric warfare largely focus on differences in military and
economic power, more comprehensive understandings of the term emphasize that disparities
in political and military strategy, notions of time, and organizational characteristics of the
conflict parties are equally important as differences in material capabilities.

PATRICK A. MELLO
Technische Universität Dresden, Germany
Patrick.Mello@tu-dresden.de

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