Rebel Group Behavior in Multi-party Civil Wars

Session Submission Type: Full Paper Panel

Session Description

In this panel, we discuss the initial factors that shape rebel group behavior in multi-party civil wars. We seek answers to important questions that require more scholarly attention. Why do some rebel groups cooperate when others fight? Do some rebel alliances last longer than others? Why do some alliances fragment when others remain united? Why do armed organizations merge their command and control structures despite losing their initial identity? Focusing on a diverse range of issues and case studies from the Middle East, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Central Asia, this panel aims to improve our understanding of how rebel groups work and in which way they interact.

Sub Unit

• Division 21: Conflict Processes

Individual Presentations

• Rebel Group Mergers: A Marriage of Convenience - Sedef Asli Topal, Ripon College

• An Experimental Analysis of Conflict Type's Impact on Social Attitudes - William John Favell, Washington State University; Jacob S. Lewis, Washington State University; John F. McCauley, University of Maryland, College Park

• How We Assess Threat: Disaggregating Lethality and Capability - Tricia Bacon, American University; Hannah Priyanka Chesterton, Catholic University of America

Chair

• Jacob S. Lewis Washington State University

Discussants

• Merve Keskin University of Pittsburgh

• Leonardo Gentil Fernandes University of Tennessee, Knoxville