Dew, Andrea J.

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Dew, Andrea J.

PERSONAL:

Education: Studied at Kyoto Japanese Language School; Southampton University, B.A., 1993; Tufts University, M.A., 2003, Ph.D., 2007.

ADDRESSES:

Office—U.S. Naval War College, 686 Cushing Rd., Newport, RI 02841. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Academic and historian. JET Program, Kyoto, Japan, teacher trainer, 1993-96; Kyoto YWCA, Kyoto, Japan, volunteer coordinator of a Conflict Resolution Training Program and English language coordinator, 1998-2001; Tufts University, Medford, MA, Fletcher Writing Program coordinator, 2003-06, research associate for International Security Studies Program, 2003-06; Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, International Security Studies Fellow, 2006; U.S. Naval War College, Newport, RI, assistant professor, 2007—. H.B. Earhart fellow, 2002-06; Jebsen Center for Counter-Terrorism senior fellow, Tufts University, 2007-08.

WRITINGS:

(With Richard H. Shultz, Jr.) Insurgents, Terrorists, and Militias: The Warriors of Contemporary Combat, Columbia University Press (New York, NY), 2006.

(With Mohammed-Mahmoud Mohamedou) Empowered Groups, Tested Laws, and Policy Options, Program on Humanitarian Policy and Conflict Research, Harvard University (Cambridge, MA), 2007.

Contributor to books, including Armed Groups, edited by Jeffery Norwitz, Naval War College (Newport, RI), 2008. Staff editor of the Fletcher Forum of World Affairs.

SIDELIGHTS:

Andrea J. Dew is an academic and historian. Dew graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in history from Southampton University in 1993. Fluent in spoken Japanese, Dew lived and worked in Japan after completing her undergraduate studies. She worked as a teacher trainer with the JET Program in the historic city of Kyoto from 1993 to 1996. From 1997 to 1998, she studied at Kyoto Japanese Language School to solidify her mastery of Japanese language. At this point she began working at the Kyoto YWCA, where she served as a volunteer for a Conflict Resolution Training Program and as an English language coordinator until 2001.

She moved to Massachusetts and, two years later, completed a master of arts degree in law and diplomacy from the Fletcher School at Tufts University. She immediately continued into a Ph.D. program in international relations, graduating in 2007. During this time she worked as the Fletcher Writing Program coordinator, a staff editor of the Fletcher Forum of World Affairs, and a research associate for the Fletcher School's International Security Studies Program. From 2002 until 2006, she also served as an H.B. Earhart fellow. In 2007 she began working as an assistant professor in the Department of Strategy and Policy at the U.S. Naval War College, focusing her research on armed groups and irregular warfare. From 2007 to 2008 she was a Jebsen Center for Counter-Terrorism senior fellow at Tufts University.

Dew published her first book, Insurgents, Terrorists, and Militias: The Warriors of Contemporary Combat, in 2006 with Richard H. Shultz, Jr. The account looks into the various ways fighters from traditionally warrior-based societies react in situation of modern warfare, oftentimes against an opponent who is widely considered to be militarily superior. The pair explain how these groups are likely to respond, move around the landscape, employ attacks, blend into the landscape, and communicate.

Walter Ladwig, writing in the Military Review, remarked that "the unevenness in the applicability of insight highlights a central shortcoming in" the book, noting that the authors "don't provide any guidance about how knowledge gained from their framework can be used to defeat tribal methods of war." Ladwig conceded, however, that "they don't claim to provide such prescriptive advice" in the book. Ladwig concluded that, "on the whole, Insurgents, Terrorists, and Militias is a useful introduction to the topic of traditional warriors and modern warfare. However, the lack of prescriptive guidance for responding to the challenges posed by tribal irregulars leaves the reader wanting more. Those in search of works that combine analysis with recommendations would probably be better served by consulting" other texts in this field.

Will Holahan, reviewing the book in the Officer, commented that for readers "wishing to become conversant with the latest Department of Defense (DoD) vernacular of ‘cultural awareness’ this work fits the bill." Holahan found that Dew and Shultz "write in an easy-to-understand style based upon their position that" the world is "witnessing a complete departure from the modern understanding of armed combat as it was practiced in the 20th century." Glenn Alexander Crowther, reviewing the book in Parameters, suggested that all experts of "international security matters on behalf of the United States should read this book." Crowther concluded that Insurgents, Terrorists, and Militias outlines "the environment in which Army, Marine, and special operations forces will be operating for the foreseeable future. Sun Tzu implores us to know our enemy. Shultz and Dew have provided us with a superb roadmap to pursue that imperative. This book goes a long way in allowing the reader to get to know his opponent. We have only ourselves to blame if we are not ready the next time."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, December 1, 2006, A.B. Lowther, review of Insurgents, Terrorists, and Militias: The Warriors of Contemporary Combat, p. 717.

International History Review, March 1, 2008, Raymond Millen, review of Insurgents, Terrorists, and Militias, p. 224.

Marine Corps Gazette, January 1, 2007, Charles L. Armstrong, review of Insurgents, Terrorists, and Militias, p. 67.

Military Review, March 1, 2007, Walter Ladwig, review of Insurgents, Terrorists, and Militias.

Officer, January 1, 2007, Will Holahan, review of Insurgents, Terrorists, and Militias, p. 57.

Parameters, summer, 2007, Glenn Alexander Crowther, review of Insurgents, Terrorists, and Militias, p. 118.