Killer Connections: Interorganizational Cooperation and Militant Group Survival

• In Event: Inter-rebel Cooperation and Conflict

Abstract

Why do some militant organizations last much longer than others? Some groups only carry out violence for a year, while others wage campaigns of attack for decades. Research has sought to answer this question, but with various shortcomings. We argue that cooperative relationships among militant groups should be especially helpful for organizational longevity, and we explore theoretical reasons why different dimensions of cooperation should affect longevity in distinct ways. Empirically, we introduce new data on nearly 500 militant organizations from 1998-2012. We find that the more cooperative relationships a group has, the less likely it is to subsequently cease to exist as a group. This relationship is highly robust and substantively meaningful. A simple count of relationships seems to be more important for longevity than more complex notions of cooperation, such as betweenneess or eigenvector centrality. Having more partners helps groups survive, and it is apparently more helpful than being in a key location in a network.

Authors

• Victor Asal, University at Albany, SUNY

• Brian J. Phillips, University of Essex

• R. Karl Rethemeyer, University of Massachusetts Amherst