This book examines whether differences in the organizational structure of armed groups shape patterns of human rights violations in civil wars.

Since the end of World War II, civil wars have been characterized by extremely high numbers of civilian casualties. However, the exact extent of civilian suffering varies across time, conflict, and geographic region. Recently, a new strand of research has emerged, primarily focused on studying the dynamics underlying the variation in civilian abuse by examining the characteristics of the armed groups and how these characteristics...

This volume examines the various aspects of territorial separatism, focusing on how and why separatist movements arise.

Featuring essays by leading scholars from different disciplinary perspectives, the book aims to situate the question of separatism within the broader socio-political context of the international system, arguing that a set of historical events as well as local, regional, and global dynamics have converged to provide the catalysts that often trigger separatist conflicts. In addition, the book marks progress towards a new conceptual framework for the study of...

This book investigates the origins of civil wars which emerge from failed attempts at democratization.

The main aim of this volume is to develop a theoretical explanation of the conditions under which and the mechanisms through which social movements' struggles for democracy ends up in civil war. While the empirical evidence suggests that this is not a rare phenomenon, the literatures on social movements, democratization and civil wars have grown apart from each other. At the theoretical level, the volume bridges insights in the three fields, looking in particular at explanations of...

This book develops a theoretical understanding of foreign intervention on the warfare in civil wars.

Warfare in civil wars is far more dynamic than in international wars. To date there is a paucity of research on the nature of warfare in civil wars. Within a single civil war, the predominant type of warfare may change over time or between regions. This book fills this gap. It establishes how the military balance of power between the contending sides in a civil war shapes the type of warfare that develops. It shows that this warfare is often highly fluid, with belligerents adapting...

This book examines the conditions under which the presence and use of militias result in an increase or decrease in violence against civilians in intra-state conflicts.

This book examines whether partition is an effective means to resolve ethnic civil wars.