Rebels in a Rotten State

Rebels in a Rotten State PDF Author: Kieran Mitton
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190613076
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 360

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Book Description
The atrocities of civil wars present us with many difficult questions. How do seemingly ordinary individuals come to commit such extraordinary acts of cruelty, often against unarmed civilians? Can we ever truly understand such acts of 'evil'? Based on a wealth of original interviews with perpetrators of violence in Sierra Leone's civil war, this book provides a detailed response. Moving beyond the rigid bounds of political science, the author engages with sociology, psychology and social psychology, to provide a comprehensive picture of the complex individual motives behind seemingly senseless violence in Sierra Leone's war. Highlighting the inadequacy of current explanations that centre on the anarchic nature of brutality, or conversely, its calculated rationality, this book sheds light on the critical but hitherto neglected role played by the emotions of shame and disgust. Drawing on first-hand accounts of strategies employed by Sierra Leone's rebel commanders, it documents the manner in which rebel recruits were systematically brutalised and came to perform horrifying acts of cruelty as routine. In so doing, it offers fresh insight into the causes of extreme violence that holds relevance beyond Sierra Leone to the atrocities of contemporary civil wars.

Rebels in a Rotten State

Rebels in a Rotten State PDF Author: Kieran Mitton
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190613076
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 360

Get Book Here

Book Description
The atrocities of civil wars present us with many difficult questions. How do seemingly ordinary individuals come to commit such extraordinary acts of cruelty, often against unarmed civilians? Can we ever truly understand such acts of 'evil'? Based on a wealth of original interviews with perpetrators of violence in Sierra Leone's civil war, this book provides a detailed response. Moving beyond the rigid bounds of political science, the author engages with sociology, psychology and social psychology, to provide a comprehensive picture of the complex individual motives behind seemingly senseless violence in Sierra Leone's war. Highlighting the inadequacy of current explanations that centre on the anarchic nature of brutality, or conversely, its calculated rationality, this book sheds light on the critical but hitherto neglected role played by the emotions of shame and disgust. Drawing on first-hand accounts of strategies employed by Sierra Leone's rebel commanders, it documents the manner in which rebel recruits were systematically brutalised and came to perform horrifying acts of cruelty as routine. In so doing, it offers fresh insight into the causes of extreme violence that holds relevance beyond Sierra Leone to the atrocities of contemporary civil wars.

Rebels in a Rotten State

Rebels in a Rotten State PDF Author: Kieran Mitton
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190241586
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 360

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Book Description
Uses Sierra Leone as a case study in our understanding of the brutal nature of modern conflict

Rebels and Conflict Escalation

Rebels and Conflict Escalation PDF Author: Isabelle Duyvesteyn
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1316518477
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 285

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Book Description
Duyvesteyn critically examines the potential explanations for the escalation and de-escalation during conflicts involving states and non-state actors, such as terrorists and insurgents.

Icons of Dissent

Icons of Dissent PDF Author: Jeremy Prestholdt
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190092645
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 343

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Book Description
The global icon is an omnipresent but poorly understood element of mass culture. This book asks why audiences around the world have embraced particular iconic figures, how perceptions of these figures have changed, and what this tells us about transnational relations since the Cold War era. Prestholdt addresses these questions by examining one type of icon: the anti-establishment figure. As symbols that represent sentiments, ideals, or something else recognizable to a wide audience, icons of dissent have been integrated into diverse political and consumer cultures, and global audiences have reinterpreted them over time. To illustrate these points the book examines four of the most evocative and controversial figures of the past fifty years: Che Guevara, Bob Marley, Tupac Shakur, and Osama bin Laden. Each has embodied a convergence of dissent, cultural politics, and consumerism, yet popular perceptions of each reveal the dissonance between shared, global references and locally contingent interpretations. By examining four very different figures, Icons of Dissent offers new insights into global symbolic idioms, the mutability of common references, and the commodification of political sentiment in the contemporary world.

Rebellious Riots

Rebellious Riots PDF Author:
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 900454240X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 243

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Book Description
Is violent conflict in Africa urbanizing? How do urban protests and civil war intersect? How do narratives, mechanisms and identities of contention move between urban and rural arenas? These questions constitute the basis of investigation and analysis of this unique cross-disciplinary volume. Applying diverging perspectives and methods from political science, anthropology and urban African studies, the book carefully constructs the relational and entangled nature of contemporary forms of contentious politics in Niger, Democratic Republic of Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Sierra Leone and Ethiopia.

An Introduction to War Studies

An Introduction to War Studies PDF Author: Michael S. Goodman
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
ISBN: 180220332X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 253

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Book Description
Commemorating 60 years of War Studies at King’s College London, this incisive and adroitly crafted book acts as a comprehensive introduction to the multidisciplinary field of war, conflict and security. Adopting a global approach, it adeptly navigates a broad spectrum of themes and theoretical perspectives which lie at the heart of this important area of study.

Rebel Financing and Terrorism in Civil Wars

Rebel Financing and Terrorism in Civil Wars PDF Author: Margherita Belgioioso
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1000993264
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 96

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Book Description
This book investigates the ways in which the lethality of terrorist violence depends on how rebel organizations finance their rebellion. The leaders of rebel groups make calculated decisions on the intensity of terrorism killings, considering the benefits and costs of targeting non-combatants against the financing needs of their organization. The study specifically focuses on analyzing the effects of different external financing options available to rebel groups and takes into account the role of local populations in making financing available. This comparative approach to external financing reveals new hypotheses that are empirically verified and differ from the expectations and findings of prior research. The book's findings are relevant to policy discussions on counter-insurgency strategies that prioritize protecting populations from human rights abuses. Existing doctrines tend to overlook the potential impact of targeted efforts to isolate insurgents from specific financing sources on the capacity to secure local populations. This book will be of interest to students of civil wars, terrorism studies, political violence, and security studies.

Competing Memories

Competing Memories PDF Author: Rebekka Friedman
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1316949281
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 231

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Book Description
The aftermath of modern conflicts, deeply rooted in political, economic and social structures, leaves pervasive and often recurring legacies of violence. Addressing past injustice is therefore fundamental not only for societal well-being and peace, but also for future conflict prevention. In recent years, truth and reconciliation commissions have become important but contentious mechanisms for conflict resolution and reconciliation. This book fills a significant gap, examining the importance of context within transitional justice and peace-building. It lays out long-term and often unexpected indirect effects of formal and informal justice processes. Offering a novel conceptual understanding of 'procedural reconciliation' on the societal level, it features an in-depth study of commissions in Peru and Sierra Leone, providing a critical analysis of the contribution and challenges facing transitional justice in post-conflict societies. It will be of interest to scholars and students of comparative politics, international relations, human rights and conflict studies.

From Jihad to Politics

From Jihad to Politics PDF Author: Jerome Drevon
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0197765181
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 286

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Book Description
This is an open access title available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International licence. It is free to read on the Oxford Academic platform and offered as a free PDF download from OUP and selected open access locations. The Syrian regime unleashed unprecedented violence to suppress large-scale non-violent protests amid the Arab uprisings. Hundreds of armed groups formed throughout the country to defend the protesters and fight back. However, in contrast to other conflicts previously dominated by al-Qaeda and Islamic State, the two largest Syrian Jihadi groups, Ahrar al-Sham and then Jabhat al-Nusra, rejected global jihad and began to cultivate new ties with the population, other armed opposition groups, and even foreign states. This strategic shift is a response to the Jihadi paradox--a realization that while Jihadis excel at leading insurgencies, they fail to achieve political victories. In From Jihad to Politics, Jerome Drevon offers an examination of the Syrian armed opposition, tracing the emergence of Jihadi groups in the conflict, their dominance, and their political transformation. Drawing upon field research and interviews with Syrian insurgents in northwestern Syria and Turkey, Drevon demonstrates how the context of a local conflict can shape armed groups' behavior in unexpected ways. Further, he marshals unique evidence from the Arab world's most intense conflict to explain why the trajectory of the transnational Jihadi movement has altered course in recent years.

Postgenocide

Postgenocide PDF Author: Klejda Mulaj
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 019264825X
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 337

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Book Description
This volume introduces 'postgenocide' as a novel approach to study genocide and its effects after mass killing has ended. It investigates how the material violence of genocide translates into contests over memory, remembrance, and laws, and the re-imagining of political community. Contributions come from academics across a broad range of disciplines, including law, political science, sociology, and ethnography Chapters in this volume explore the various permutations of genocide harms, and scrutinise the efficacy of genocide laws and the prospects for their enforcement. Others engage with socio-political responses to genocide, including efforts to reconciliation, as well as genocide's impacts on victims' communities. Contributions examine the reconstruction of genocide narratives in the display of victims' objects in museums, galleries, and archives.This book brings together cutting edge research from a variety of disciplines, to address formerly overlooked themes and cases, exploring what a diversity of perspectives can bring to bear on genocide scholarship as a whole.