Insurgencies in Afghanistan and Iraq that the United States currently faces parallel a
worldwide phenomenon of increasing insurgent wars. This rise occurring since World War II has
been attributed to many factors however there have been few studies that have tried to
understand this rise. This study is the outcome of the examination of two important and
interrelated questions that have come to dominate much of the discourse on insurgencies: (1)
why are there more insurgencies today and (2) will this pattern of more insurgencies continue
into the future? While much has been published both on the unipolarity's effects
oninternational and regional environments as well as asymmetric conflicts insurgencies there
is very little that examines both. Despite the fact that the unipolar system has been
considered a candidate as the leading contributor to the rash of insurgencies there is a gap
in research examining this link.
