Challenges In Designing Counterinsurgency Policy: An Institutionalist Perspective

Research on India's counterinsurgency practice is divided into two categories. One emphasizes moderation in the use of coercive power, while the other highlights its wanton abuse. This paper attempts to bridge that divide. Comparing accounts of different conflicts in India and South Asia, it delineates two ideal types of counterinsurgency: 'population-centric' and 'enemy-centric'. While both models are institutionalist in nature—they assume the malleability of the population's preferences–they differ on whether persuasive or coercive institutions are used to mould those civilian attitudes towards the State. The study also explores the effects of mixing the two models and how this generates noisy signals that inhibit cooperation.