British Counterinsurgency: From Palestine to Northern Ireland

Discussion questions for British Counterinsurgency: From Palestine to Northern Ireland

Bring these to your book club — or discuss them with readers on Readfeed.

1. 1

   Newsinger argues that the British security establishment is the most experienced in the world at counterinsurgency; how does this book challenge or reinforce your prior understanding of British military history and foreign policy?

2. 2

   The book examines conflicts across vastly different cultural and geographical landscapes, from Palestine and Malaya to Kenya and Northern Ireland. Which of these case studies did you find most illuminating, and what common threads tied them together?

3. 3

   Newsinger takes a hard-nosed approach to the realities of counterinsurgency. How did reading about the often brutal methods used by the state alter your perspective on the morality of maintaining imperial control or domestic order?