Alliance Formation in Civil Wars

Alliance Formation in Civil Wars PDF Author: Fotini Christia
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1139851756
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
Some of the most brutal and long-lasting civil wars of our time involve the rapid formation and disintegration of alliances among warring groups, as well as fractionalization within them. It would be natural to suppose that warring groups form alliances based on shared identity considerations - such as Christian groups allying with Christian groups - but this is not what we see. Two groups that identify themselves as bitter foes one day, on the basis of some identity narrative, might be allies the next day and vice versa. Nor is any group, however homogeneous, safe from internal fractionalization. Rather, looking closely at the civil wars in Afghanistan and Bosnia and testing against the broader universe of fifty-three cases of multiparty civil wars, Fotini Christia finds that the relative power distribution between and within various warring groups is the primary driving force behind alliance formation, alliance changes, group splits and internal group takeovers.

Alliance Formation in Civil Wars

Alliance Formation in Civil Wars PDF Author: Fotini Christia
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1139851756
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
Some of the most brutal and long-lasting civil wars of our time involve the rapid formation and disintegration of alliances among warring groups, as well as fractionalization within them. It would be natural to suppose that warring groups form alliances based on shared identity considerations - such as Christian groups allying with Christian groups - but this is not what we see. Two groups that identify themselves as bitter foes one day, on the basis of some identity narrative, might be allies the next day and vice versa. Nor is any group, however homogeneous, safe from internal fractionalization. Rather, looking closely at the civil wars in Afghanistan and Bosnia and testing against the broader universe of fifty-three cases of multiparty civil wars, Fotini Christia finds that the relative power distribution between and within various warring groups is the primary driving force behind alliance formation, alliance changes, group splits and internal group takeovers.

Alliance Formation in Civil Wars. Fotini Christia, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Alliance Formation in Civil Wars. Fotini Christia, Massachusetts Institute of Technology PDF Author: Fotini Christia
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781139840293
Category : Alliances
Languages : en
Pages : 362

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Book Description
"This book argues that relative power balances, rather than shared identities, explain why combatant groups in the Afghan civil wars constantly aligned with and double-crossed each other, and develops a theory on alliance formation and group fractionalization in multiparty civil wars"--

Quagmire in Civil War

Quagmire in Civil War PDF Author: Jonah Schulhofer-Wohl
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108486762
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 345

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Book Description
Rebuts the pervasive 'folk' notion that quagmire is intrinsic to a country or civil war. Shows that quagmire is made, not found.

Alliance Formation in Civil Wars

Alliance Formation in Civil Wars PDF Author: Fotini Christia
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107023025
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 361

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Book Description
This book argues power balances, rather than shared identities, explain why warring Afghan groups aligned with and double-crossed each other.

Dangerous Alliances

Dangerous Alliances PDF Author: Patricia A. Weitsman
Publisher: Stanford University Press
ISBN: 9780804748667
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 274

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Book Description
Military alliances drive international politics. They embody conflict and cooperation among states and shape the international political landscape. Despite the profound effect alliances have on the course of international politics, many gaps remain in our understanding of their formation, continuance, and cohesion. In this book, Patricia Weitsman introduces a comprehensive theory that unifies current ideas about alliances and examines the relationship between threat and alliance politics under conditions of both war and peace. Examining military alliances before and during World War I, Weitsman provides a new interpretation of the politics of the great powers of this period. She reveals that states frequently form alliances to keep peace among the allied countries, not simply to counter shared external threats. Though alliances may be perceived by others to present a unified and threatening front, countries often face significant threats from within their own alliances. It is this paradox that underscores Weitsman's theory: although alliances are frequently forged to sustain peace, they may, in fact, increase the prospects of war.

Grand Strategy and Military Alliances

Grand Strategy and Military Alliances PDF Author: Peter R. Mansoor
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107136024
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 417

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Book Description
A broad-ranging study of the relationship between alliances and the conduct of grand strategy, examined through historical case studies.

The Logic of Violence in Civil War

The Logic of Violence in Civil War PDF Author: Stathis N. Kalyvas
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 113945692X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 20

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Book Description
By analytically decoupling war and violence, this book explores the causes and dynamics of violence in civil war. Against the prevailing view that such violence is an instance of impenetrable madness, the book demonstrates that there is logic to it and that it has much less to do with collective emotions, ideologies, and cultures than currently believed. Kalyvas specifies a novel theory of selective violence: it is jointly produced by political actors seeking information and individual civilians trying to avoid the worst but also grabbing what opportunities their predicament affords them. Violence, he finds, is never a simple reflection of the optimal strategy of its users; its profoundly interactive character defeats simple maximization logics while producing surprising outcomes, such as relative nonviolence in the 'frontlines' of civil war.

Foreign Powers and Intervention in Armed Conflicts

Foreign Powers and Intervention in Armed Conflicts PDF Author: Aysegul Aydin
Publisher: Stanford University Press
ISBN: 0804782946
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 213

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Book Description
Intervention in armed conflicts is full of riddles that await attention from scholars and policymakers. This book argues that rethinking intervention—redefining what it is and why foreign powers take an interest in others' conflicts—is of critical importance to understanding how conflicts evolve over time with the entry and exit of external actors. It does this by building a new model of intervention that crosses the traditional boundaries between economics, international relations theory, and security studies, and places the economic interests and domestic political institutions of external states at the center of intervention decisions. Combining quantitative and qualitative evidence from both historical and contemporary conflicts, including interventions in both interstate conflicts and civil wars, it presents an in-depth discussion of a range of interventions—diplomatic, economic, and military—in a variety of international contexts, creating a comprehensive model for future research on the topic.

Insurgent Fragmentation in the Horn of Africa

Insurgent Fragmentation in the Horn of Africa PDF Author: Michael Woldemariam
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108423256
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 333

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Book Description
This extended treatment of insurgent fragmentation provides an innovative new theory tested through analysis of the Horn of Africa's civil wars.

The Origins of Alliances

The Origins of Alliances PDF Author: Stephen M. Walt
Publisher: Cornell University Press
ISBN: 0801469988
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 336

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Book Description
How are alliances made? In this book, Stephen M. Walt makes a significant contribution to this topic, surveying theories of the origins of international alliances and identifying the most important causes of security cooperation between states. In addition, he proposes a fundamental change in the present conceptions of alliance systems. Contrary to traditional balance-of-power theories, Walt shows that states form alliances not simply to balance power but in order to balance threats. Walt begins by outlining five general hypotheses about the causes of alliances. Drawing upon diplomatic history and a detailed study of alliance formation in the Middle East between 1955 and 1979, he demonstrates that states are more likely to join together against threats than they are to ally themselves with threatening powers. Walt also examines the impact of ideology on alliance preferences and the role of foreign aid and transnational penetration. His analysis show, however, that these motives for alignment are relatively less important. In his conclusion, he examines the implications of "balance of threat" for U.S. foreign policy.