The professional military organisations of states generally find it hard to implement military change. Rebel groups, on the other hand, have been depicted as more flexible and adaptive actors than...Show moreThe professional military organisations of states generally find it hard to implement military change. Rebel groups, on the other hand, have been depicted as more flexible and adaptive actors than state militaries. This thesis probes the plausibility of this proposition by conducting an illustrative case study of the Chechen separatist rebel movement. It will be demonstrated that several factors that complicate and impede rebel military change can be identified and that resultantly the effectuation and implementation of military change, especially at the strategic level, is unlikely to be a straightforward process for rebel groups. In this way, the thesis points at the need for the field of military change studies to move beyond its state-centric focus.Show less