Quote Originally Posted by selil View Post
My thinking is that nation state, nonstate, non-nation-state, etc.. are over loaded terms. They have multiple meanings depending on context and use. In the current example an Iranian (insurgent) running around Iraq would not necessarily be sponsored by Iran directly. The ideology of the "insurgent" might be religious. An Iraqi (insurgent) running around Iraq would not necessarily be sponsored by Iraq directly. Once again the ideology or prime motivations aren't necessarily "state sponsored".

In the former example the "insurgent" from Iran can be fighting to "hurt" the United States. In the second example the "insurgent" can be fighting for national identity, religious, anti-imperialism, etc... There are non-state (not of any nation (Iranian insurgent), and non-nation-state (Iraqi motivated by internal strife). In either case the insurgent may not be representing a government, but one is likely foreign to the conflict.

I'll be honest I've been struggling with the concept and attempting to work this out in figuring the difference between an internal insurgent and a revolutionary. Thereby defining the difference between an insurgency and civil war. This begs the question if there is a difference what is it? Yes I know we've discussed this before but we haven't seen but a split in the opinions. Just to create even more issues I've seen the American revolution described as a guerrilla war fought partially as an insurgency.
I've never understood trying to decide if something is an insurgency or a civil war. Apples and oranges. Insurgency is a strategy. It is sometimes used in a civil war. Some insurgencies take place within a civil war. Not all civil wars entail insurgency. I also don't think it makes sense to define something as "a" guerrilla war. Guerrilla is an operational and tactical method. That's like describing something as an armored assault war. The American Revolution, like the Vietnam War, had conventional theaters of operation and insurgent theaters of operations.