Civil War Flashcards
What is a civil war according to Small and Singer (1982)?
A civil war distinguishes from interstate wars, non-state wars, terrorism, etc…
It is seen as being an armed conflict, with military action ‘internal to the metropole’, participation of national govt and resistance by BOTH SIDES.
What different conflicts are covered by Small and Singer’s definition of a civil war?
Covered within this are ethnic wars, revolutions, internal armed conflicts, peasant insurrections, etc.
Explain the difference between centre-seeking and secessionist wars
Centre-seeking: rebels aim to overthrow the central government or substantially change the composition of the central government
Secessionist: the rebels aim to secede and form their own state or join a different state, or the rebels aim at a greater degree of internal autonomy
What are interstate/civil/extrastate wars respectively?
- Interstate = between sovereign states
- Civil wars = within a metropole, between a govt and an insurgent power
- Extrastate = colonial wars - between a sovereign state and an external, non-sovereign group
What has happened to the quantities of civil wars/interstate wars since WW2?
Since WW2, the number of interstate wars has significantly decreased, giving way to the majority of conflicts being civil wars.
What regions are seemingly driving the increase in civil wars?
An increase in civil conflicts across the Middle East and Africa is seemingly driving the rise in civil wars. Particularly, the rise of the Islamic State and insurgencies in Africa.
What is visibly the case for how devastating conflicts are when they are interstate vs when they are intrastate?
Interstate conflicts are rare, but devastating, causing huge human losses both in battle and indirectly. Intrastate conflicts, however, are more common, but are significantly less dangerous to human life.
What are the indirect consequences of civil wars beyond the loss of human life and damage to living environments?
Beyond loss of life and environment damage, wars damage economies, cause famine, displace people and cause crises of public health. They cause countries to remain poor and underdeveloped.
What are the two main theories on the causes of civil war? What alternative explanation has developed recently?
Explanations of civil wars tend to revolve around motive (grievance-based) or around opportunity. However ‘greed-based’ explanations have also begun to emerge.
Briefly explain grievance theories of civil war causes. What do they look at and what disadvantages of this theory is there?
Grievance theories of civil war look at injustices and how these promote armed struggles within a state. An example of this theorising is that done by Gurr, 1970. It looks at motivations of groups, but fails to account for the fact that not all grievances give rise to civil war.
Explain how ethnic grievances are seen as being significant in driving civil wars.
Ethnic grievances are seen to be the primary motivators of many civil wars. A high number of these are fought along ethnic lines (Denny and Walter, 2014) and separatist civil wars are by definition along ethnic lines.
What challenges are there to theories of ethnic grievance leading to civil war?
Ethnic diversity does not always translate into ethnic grievance. Ethnic diversity is often used as a proxy for grievances, but many ethnic groups coexist peacefully. So questions still remain around what motivates ethnic groups to become involved in a civil war.
How can nationalism explain ethnic grievances that lead to civil war?
Nationalism demands that ethnic likes should rule over ethnic likes, that a nation state should be constructed around a national identity ruled over by members of that group. Based around the political and national unit being congruent! (Gellner, 1983). When this is not the case, secessionist movements can occur.
What is the ethnic power constellation model?
The ethnic power constellation model observes different sorts of nation state - either one where one ethnic group exists and self-governs, where 2 ethnic groups exist and govern in partnership or where 2 ethnic groups exist and one is excluded from power. The latter is likely to create a form of civil conflict.