Small Wars and Insurgencies

Aims & Scope

Small Wars & Insurgencies provides an international and interdisciplinary forum for the academic and scholarly discussion of the historical, political, social, economic and psychological aspects of insurgency, counter-insurgency, limited war and irregular warfare.

Peer-reviewed and long-established, Small Wars & Insurgencies invites papers concerned with, but not limited to, the following areas: • insurgencies and guerrilla conflicts past and present • counterinsurgencies including national doctrines • terrorist movements and ideologies • irregular warfare and the debates on its historiography • peacekeeping and “humanitarian intervention”.

Essential reading, Small Wars & Insurgencies facilitates the discussion of historians, political scientists and students of International Relations and Security Studies on theoretical and practical issues related to the past, present and future of this critical area of both international and domestic politics.

The journal is historically focused and is keen to see contributions from scholars using primary and archival sources, as well as interviews.

It also welcomes contributions investigating media, literary and cinema representations of insurgencies, counter-insurgencies and irregular warfare.

Most issues include an authoritative review section, and the journal’s policy is to have 2–3 special issues each year devoted to specific themes and issues, often edited by guest editors.

View Aims & Scope

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Metrics & Ranking

Impact Factor

Year	Value
2025	1.6
2024	0.90

SJR (SCImago Journal Rank)

Year	Value
2024	0.681

Quartile

Year	Value
2024	Q1

h-index

Year	Value
2024	34

Journal Rank

Year	Value
2024	8377

Journal Citation Indicator

Year	Value
2024	290

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Abstracting & Indexing

Journal is indexed in leading academic databases, ensuring global visibility and accessibility of our peer-reviewed research.

• Scopus
• Google Scholar
• Web of Science

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Subjects & Keywords

Journal’s research areas, covering key disciplines and specialized sub-topics in Social Sciences, designed to support cutting-edge academic discovery.

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Most Cited Articles

The Most Cited Articles section features the journal's most impactful research, based on citation counts. These articles have been referenced frequently by other researchers, indicating their significant contribution to their respective fields.

• Hybrid, ambiguous, and non-linear? How new is Russia’s ‘new way of war’?

  Citation: 74

  Authors: Mark

• Civilian Cooperation and Non-Cooperation with Non-State Armed Groups: The Centrality of Obedience and Resistance

  Citation: 73

  Authors: Ana

• Rebels & Legitimacy; An Introduction

  Citation: 61

  Authors: Isabelle

• Understanding the Legitimacy of Armed Groups: A Relational Perspective

  Citation: 56

  Authors: Sukanya

• Guerrillas, bandits, and independent republics: US counter‐insurgency efforts in Colombia 1959–1965

  Citation: 51

  Authors: Dennis M.

• Hybrid War and Its Countermeasures: A Critique of the Literature

  Citation: 50

  Authors: Robert

• ‘Like going to a fiesta’ – the role of female fighters in Colombia's FARC-EP

  Citation: 49

  Authors: Natalia, Douglas

• Syria and the perils of proxy warfare

  Citation: 49

  Authors: Geraint Alun

• Belgian and Dutch Jihadist Foreign Fighters (2012–2015): Characteristics, Motivations, and Roles in the War in Syria and Iraq

  Citation: 48

  Authors: Edwin, Roel

• ‘What is in a Name?’: The Role of (Different) Identities in the Multiple Proxy Wars in Syria

  Citation: 46

  Authors: Christopher, Morten

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