Download or read book Political Theory of Armed Groups written by Andrei Miroiu and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-07-21 with total page 62 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This Brief provides a comprehensive introduction to current research on armed groups and proposes a unitary political theory for their future analysis. Traditionally, theoretical and historical approaches to armed groups have focused on different categories of armed groups—insurgents, radical groups, militias, governmental forces—instead of treating them as unitary actors in international politics. This Brief departs from this traditional theoretical treatment, arguing that armed groups are fundamental units of politics, outside of class, gender, and the state, and should be analyzed as such. The book begins with a discussion of current classifications and definitions of armed groups as well as methodological approaches towards studying them. Chapter Two discusses armed groups from a historical and anthropological perspective. Chapter Three presents a critical analysis and interpretation of existing political perspectives on armed groups. The book concludes by introducing the new theory. Challenging traditional methods of political theory and analysis while providing a solid introduction to the field, this Brief will be of use to researchers and scholars in political theory, international relations, political science, and anthropology, as well as to professionals in fields such as policing, counter-terrorism, and internal affairs.

Download or read book Ordering Violence written by Paul Staniland and published by Cornell University Press. This book was released on 2021-12-15 with total page 318 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Ordering Violence, Paul Staniland advances a broad approach to armed politics—bringing together governments, insurgents, militias, and armed political parties in a shared framework—to argue that governments' perception of the ideological threats posed by armed groups drive their responses and interactions. Staniland combines a unique new dataset of state-group armed orders in India, Pakistan, Burma/Myanmar, and Sri Lanka with detailed case studies from the region to explore when and how this model of threat perception provides insight into patterns of repression, collusion, and mutual neglect across nearly seven decades. Instead of straightforwardly responding to the material or organizational power of armed groups, Staniland finds, regimes assess how a group's politics align with their own ideological projects. Explaining, for example, why governments often use extreme repression against weak groups even while working with or tolerating more powerful armed actors, Ordering Violence provides a comprehensive overview of South Asia's complex armed politics, embedded within an analytical framework that can also speak broadly beyond the subcontinent.

Download or read book Networks of Rebellion written by Paul Staniland and published by Cornell University Press. This book was released on 2014-04-18 with total page 313 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Insurgent cohesion is central to explaining patterns of violence, the effectiveness of counterinsurgency, and civil war outcomes. Cohesive insurgent groups produce more effective war-fighting forces and are more credible negotiators; organizational cohesion shapes both the duration of wars and their ultimate resolution. In Networks of Rebellion, Paul Staniland explains why insurgent leaders differ so radically in their ability to build strong organizations and why the cohesion of armed groups changes over time during conflicts. He outlines a new way of thinking about the sources and structure of insurgent groups, distinguishing among integrated, vanguard, parochial, and fragmented groups. Staniland compares insurgent groups, their differing social bases, and how the nature of the coalitions and networks within which these armed groups were built has determined their discipline and internal control. He examines insurgent groups in Afghanistan, 1975 to the present day, Kashmir (1988–2003), Sri Lanka from the 1970s to the defeat of the Tamil Tigers in 2009, and several communist uprisings in Southeast Asia during the Cold War. The initial organization of an insurgent group depends on the position of its leaders in prewar political networks. These social bases shape what leaders can and cannot do when they build a new insurgent group. Counterinsurgency, insurgent strategy, and international intervention can cause organizational change. During war, insurgent groups are embedded in social ties that determine they how they organize, fight, and negotiate; as these ties shift, organizational structure changes as well.

Download or read book Inside Rebellion written by Jeremy M. Weinstein and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2006-10-09 with total page 428 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Some rebel groups abuse noncombatant populations, while others exhibit restraint. Insurgent leaders in some countries transform local structures of government, while others simply extract resources for their own benefit. In some contexts, groups kill their victims selectively, while in other environments violence appears indiscriminate, even random. This book presents a theory that accounts for the different strategies pursued by rebel groups in civil war, explaining why patterns of insurgent violence vary so much across conflicts. It does so by examining the membership, structure, and behavior of four insurgent movements in Uganda, Mozambique, and Peru. Drawing on interviews with nearly two hundred combatants and civilians who experienced violence firsthand, it shows that rebels' strategies depend in important ways on how difficult it is to launch a rebellion. The book thus demonstrates how characteristics of the environment in which rebellions emerge constrain rebel organization and shape the patterns of violence that civilians experience.

Download or read book How Insurgency Begins written by Janet I. Lewis and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2020-09-03 with total page 299 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why do only some incipient rebel groups become viable challengers to governments? Only those that control local rumor networks survive.

Download or read book The Accountability of Armed Groups under Human Rights Law written by Katharine Fortin and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2017-08-11 with total page 448 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Today the majority of the armed conflicts around the world are fought between States and armed groups, rather than between States. This changed conflict landscape creates an imperative to clarify the obligations of armed groups under international law. While it is generally accepted that armed groups are bound by international humanitarian law, the question of whether they are also bound by human rights law is controversial. This book brings significant new understanding to the question of whether and when armed groups might be bound by human rights law. Its conclusions will benefit international law academics, legal practitioners, and political scientists and anthropologists working on issues related to rebel governance and civil wars. This book addresses the debate on this topic by employing a theoretical, historical, and comparative analysis that spans international humanitarian law, international criminal law, and international human rights law. Embedding these different perspectives in public international law, this book brings several key points of clarification to the legal framework. Firstly, the book draws upon social science literature on armed conflict to present a new viewpoint on the role that human rights law plays vis-à-vis international humanitarian law in non-international armed conflicts. Secondly, the book sheds light on the circumstances in which armed groups acquire obligations under human rights law. It brings illumination to these topics by combining historical and comparative research on belligerency, insurgency, and international humanitarian law with a theoretical analysis of legal personality under international law. In the final part of the book, the author tests the four most utilised theories of how armed groups are bound by human rights law, examining whether armed groups can be bound by virtue of (i) treaty law (ii) control of territory (iii) international criminal law and (iv) customary international law. In the book's conclusions, the author presents final remarks that are designed to provide concrete guidance on how the issue of armed groups and human rights law can be dealt with more thoroughly in practice.

Download or read book In the Shadow of Violence written by Klaus Schlichte and published by Campus Verlag. This book was released on 2009-04-14 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An exploration of the techniques and strategies of successful non-state armed forces.

Download or read book Compliant Rebels written by Hyeran Jo and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2015-08-21 with total page 355 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Seventeen million people have died in civil wars and rebel violence has disrupted the lives of millions more. In a fascinating contribution to the active literature on civil wars, this book finds that some contemporary rebel groups actually comply with international law amid the brutality of civil conflicts around the world. Rather than celebrating the existence of compliant rebels, the author traces the cause of this phenomenon and argues that compliant rebels emerge when rebel groups seek legitimacy in the eyes of domestic and international audiences that care about humanitarian consequences and human rights. By examining rebel groups' different behaviors such as civilian killing, child soldiering, and allowing access to detention centers, Compliant Rebels offers key messages and policy lessons about engaging rebel groups with an eye toward reducing civilian suffering in war zones.

Download or read book Armed Non State Actors and the Politics of Recognition written by Anna Geis and published by New Approaches to Conflict Ana. This book was released on 2021-06-29 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This edited volume examines asymmetric conflict dynamics through the politics of recognition vis-à-vis armed non-state actors. It explores a diverse range of case studies and considers the risks and opportunities that (non-)recognition may involve for transforming armed conflicts.

Download or read book On War written by Carl von Clausewitz and published by . This book was released on 1908 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Rebel Governance in Civil War written by Ana Arjona and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2015-10-22 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the first book to examine and compare how rebels govern civilians during civil wars in Latin America, Africa, Asia, and Europe. Drawing from a variety of disciplinary traditions, including political science, sociology, and anthropology, the book provides in-depth case studies of specific conflicts as well as comparative studies of multiple conflicts. Among other themes, the book examines why and how some rebels establish both structures and practices of rule, the role of ideology, cultural, and material factors affecting rebel governance strategies, the impact of governance on the rebel/civilian relationship, civilian responses to rebel rule, the comparison between modes of state and non-state governance to rebel attempts to establish political order, the political economy of rebel governance, and the decline and demise of rebel governance attempts.

Download or read book Armed Political Organizations written by Benedetta Berti and published by JHU Press. This book was released on 2013-08-01 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Berti’s innovative framework and careful choice of case studies, presented in a jargon-free, accessible style, will make this book attractive to not only scholars and students of democratization processes but policymakers interested in conflict resolution and peacekeeping efforts.

Download or read book Rebelocracy written by Ana Arjona and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2016-12-07 with total page 431 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Conventional wisdom portrays war zones as chaotic and anarchic. In reality, however, they are often orderly. This work introduces a new phenomenon in the study of civil war: wartime social order. It investigates theoretically and empirically the emergence and functioning of social order in conflict zones. By theorizing the interaction between combatants and civilians and how they impact wartime institutions, the study delves into rebel behavior, civilian agency and their impact on the conduct of war. Based on years of fieldwork in Colombia, the theory is tested with qualitative and quantitative evidence on communities, armed groups, and individuals in conflict zones. The study shows how armed groups strive to rule civilians, and how the latter influence the terms of that rule. The theory and empirical results illuminate our understanding of civil war, institutions, local governance, non-violent resistance, and the emergence of political order.

Download or read book Temple written by Matthew Reilly and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2007-04-01 with total page 550 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A blockbuster thriller from bestselling author Matthew Reilly. Four centuries ago, a precious idol was hidden in the jungles of Peru. To the Incan people, it is still the ultimate symbol of their spirit. To William race, an American linguist enlisted by the U.S. Army to decipher the clues to its location, it's the ultimate symbol of the apocalypse... Carved from a rare stone not found on Earth, the idol possesses elements more destructive than any nuclear bomb--a virtual planet killer. In the wrong hands it could mean the end of mankind. And whoever possesses the idol, possesses the unfathomable--and cataclysmic--power of the gods... Now, in the foothills of the Andes, Race's team has arrived--but they're not alone. And soon they'll discover that to penetrate the temple of the idol is to break the first rule of survival. Because some treasures are meant to stay buried..and forces are ready to kill to keep it that way...

Download or read book Hybrid Actors written by Thanassis Cambanis and published by Century Foundation Press. This book was released on 2019-11-26 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Influential armed groups continue to confound policymakers, diplomats, and analysts decades after their transformational arrival on the scene in the Middle East and North Africa. The most effective of these militias can most usefully be understood as hybrid actors, which simultaneously work through, with, and against the state. This joint report from The Century Foundation identifies the factors that make some hybrid actors persistent and successful, as measured by longevity, influence, and ability to project power militarily as well as politically. It finds that three factors correlate most closely with impact: constituent loyalty, resilient state relationships, and coherent ideology. The authors of this report examined cases in Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq, drawing on years of fieldwork, to distinguish hybrid actors, classic nonstate proxies, and aspirants to statehood--all of which merit different analytical and policy treatment. The report demonstrates the ways that groups can shift along a spectrum as they adapt to changing conditions.

Download or read book The Commander s Dilemma written by Amelia Hoover Green and published by Cornell University Press. This book was released on 2018-10-15 with total page 371 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why do some military and rebel groups commit many types of violence, creating an impression of senseless chaos, whereas others carefully control violence against civilians? A classic catch-22 faces the leaders of armed groups and provides the title for Amelia Hoover Green’s book. Leaders need large groups of people willing to kill and maim—but to do so only under strict control. How can commanders control violence when fighters who are not under direct supervision experience extraordinary stress, fear, and anger? The Commander’s Dilemma argues that discipline is not enough in wartime. Restraint occurs when fighters know why they are fighting and believe in the cause—that is, when commanders invest in political education. Drawing on extraordinary evidence about state and nonstate groups in El Salvador, and extending her argument to the Mano River wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone, Amelia Hoover Green shows that investments in political education can improve human rights outcomes even where rational incentives for restraint are weak—and that groups whose fighters lack a sense of purpose may engage in massive violence even where incentives for restraint are strong. Hoover Green concludes that high levels of violence against civilians should be considered a "default setting," not an aberration.

Download or read book The Politics of Military Force written by Frank Stengel and published by University of Michigan Press. This book was released on 2020-12-08 with total page 293 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Politics of Military Force examines the dynamics of discursive change that made participation in military operations possible against the background of German antimilitarist culture. Once considered a strict taboo, so-called out-of-area operations have now become widely considered by German policymakers to be without alternative. The book argues that an understanding of how certain policies are made possible (in this case, military operations abroad and force transformation), one needs to focus on processes of discursive change that result in different policy options appearing rational, appropriate, feasible, or even self-evident. Drawing on Essex School discourse theory, the book develops a theoretical framework to understand how discursive change works, and elaborates on how discursive change makes once unthinkable policy options not only acceptable but even without alternative. Based on a detailed discourse analysis of more than 25 years of German parliamentary debates, The Politics of Military Force provides an explanation for: (1) the emergence of a new hegemonic discourse in German security policy after the end of the Cold War (discursive change), (2) the rearticulation of German antimilitarism in the process (ideational change/norm erosion) and (3) the resulting making-possible of military operations and force transformation (policy change). In doing so, the book also demonstrates the added value of a poststructuralist approach compared to the naive realism and linear conceptions of norm change so prominent in the study of German foreign policy and International Relations more generally.