American Insurgency: the Guerrilla's Playbook

What happens when the guerrilla war comes home — not to the countryside, but to the city?

In this follow-up to our earlier episode, Insurgency 101, we apply insurgency theory to the 2020 urban unrest in America, examining the ways groups like Antifa and BLM-adjacent actors deployed guerrilla-adjacent tactics during riots and protests.

We cover:

• The anatomy of the modern urban guerrilla
• Why the 2020 riots weren’t spontaneous chaos, but structured disruption
• The role of perception warfare: “mostly peaceful” as strategic cover
• The dangers of overreaction vs. paralysis in state response
• How these movements exploit decentralized networks and media influence
• What law enforcement, protectors, and aware citizens need to understand next

You don’t need a jungle to wage a guerrilla war. The new insurgents operate in crowds, on social media, and behind ideological movements. Recognizing the playbook is step one.

So pull up a chair and sit a spell as we dive into American Insurgency: the Guerrilla's Playbook.

Resources:

Referenced Works:

• Robert Taber — War of the Flea
• FM 3-24 — Counterinsurgency
• Reports and footage from the 2020 urban riots and current events in Los Angeles