G
GG
The acronym for Global Guerrillas. See: Global Guerrillas.
GMW
An acronym for Generations of Modern Warfare, a term given to the theory of warfare first introduced by William Lind, Colonel Keith Nightengale (USA), Captain John F. Schmitt (USMC), Colonel Joseph W. Sutton (USA), and Lieutenant Colonel Gary I. Wilson (USMCR) in 1989.
The theory posits a generational framework for understanding warfare. Within our modern era -- beginning circa the Peace of Westphalia -- warfare has evolved through three certain generations representing modes and methods of conducting warfare and, according to the aforementioned authors, may be moving into a 4th generation of warfare characterized by dispersed, non-state actors able to attack nation states on a shifting terrain while also using the media and other methods to attack the culture of an enemy. While the first three generations delineated by GMW may be isolated and described based upon observable past conditions, the authors' attempt to describe the fourth generation of warfare, while founded upon observation of new forces and terrains already existing, left the exact, full delineation of 4GW open to discovery.
Further reading: The Changing Face of War: Into the Fourth Generation.
See: xGW
The theory posits a generational framework for understanding warfare. Within our modern era -- beginning circa the Peace of Westphalia -- warfare has evolved through three certain generations representing modes and methods of conducting warfare and, according to the aforementioned authors, may be moving into a 4th generation of warfare characterized by dispersed, non-state actors able to attack nation states on a shifting terrain while also using the media and other methods to attack the culture of an enemy. While the first three generations delineated by GMW may be isolated and described based upon observable past conditions, the authors' attempt to describe the fourth generation of warfare, while founded upon observation of new forces and terrains already existing, left the exact, full delineation of 4GW open to discovery.
Further reading: The Changing Face of War: Into the Fourth Generation.
See: xGW
Gap
A term used by Thomas P. M. Barnett to describe areas of the world that remain largely disconnected from the dominant rule-sets of globalization:
Regions of the world that are largely disconnected from the global economy and the rule sets that define its stability. Today, the Non-Integrated Gap is made up of the Caribbean Rim, Andean South America, virtually all of Africa, the Caucasus, Central Asia, the Middle East, and most of the Southeast Asian littoral. These regions constitute globalization’s “ozone hole,” where connectivity remains thin or absent in far too many cases. (Thomas P. M. Barnett's Globogization)See: Core, Seam States
Global Guerrillas
A term first coined by John Robb to describe the global emergence of autonomous warrior-groups capable of organizing and operating through horizontal means and eschewing exterior vertical controls. The existence of "black globalization" characterized by widespread black markets, "open-source platforms" allowing stigmergic learning, and the failure or inability of nation-states to halt or disrupt these environmental factors would allow the formation of autonomous groups capable of operating independently of nation-states. Indeed, John Robb has theorized that the emergence of these groups on a global scale will ultimately destroy globalization as we know it. Global Guerrillas have been described as not only able to operate outside the nation-state systems normal to our understanding of globalization but also as primarily targeting those nation-state systems and globalization operationally. In other words, the horizontal operations and loose interaction of diverse Global Guerrilla warrior-groups would ultimately supplant the nation-state/globalization system.
John Robb has variously referred to Global Guerrilla warfare as being a highly developed 4GW, as emergent 5GW, and as existing outside those labels ("Whether you call these developments 4GW on steroids or the start of a 5th generation, it just doesn't matter."1) His frequent references to William Lind in considering these labels, and in particular his specific citation at the link to the quote given above, places his considerations within the framework of the Generations of Modern Warfare Theory (GMW) rather than in the framework of Gradient Warfare Theory (xGW). However, some xGW theorists have sought to find a place for Global Guerrillas in xGW theory, particularly in 5GW.2 Some xGW theorists have rejected the theory of Global Guerrillas altogether,3 or else have placed Global Guerrillas in the third gradient of warfare, 3GW.4
1 THE CHANGING FACE OF WAR: Into the 5th Generation (5GW) @ GlobalGuerrillas.com
2 'Global Guerrillas' as 5GW Warriors @ Dreaming5GW.com
3 Coherent Gibberish @ tdaxp.com
4 Am I Understanding the Gist of the Global Guerilla Concept? @ Purpleslog.wordpress.com
See: GMW, xGW, Systempunkt
John Robb has variously referred to Global Guerrilla warfare as being a highly developed 4GW, as emergent 5GW, and as existing outside those labels ("Whether you call these developments 4GW on steroids or the start of a 5th generation, it just doesn't matter."1) His frequent references to William Lind in considering these labels, and in particular his specific citation at the link to the quote given above, places his considerations within the framework of the Generations of Modern Warfare Theory (GMW) rather than in the framework of Gradient Warfare Theory (xGW). However, some xGW theorists have sought to find a place for Global Guerrillas in xGW theory, particularly in 5GW.2 Some xGW theorists have rejected the theory of Global Guerrillas altogether,3 or else have placed Global Guerrillas in the third gradient of warfare, 3GW.4
1 THE CHANGING FACE OF WAR: Into the 5th Generation (5GW) @ GlobalGuerrillas.com
2 'Global Guerrillas' as 5GW Warriors @ Dreaming5GW.com
3 Coherent Gibberish @ tdaxp.com
4 Am I Understanding the Gist of the Global Guerilla Concept? @ Purpleslog.wordpress.com
See: GMW, xGW, Systempunkt
