Post-2003 civil wars are different from previous civil wars in three striking ways. First, most of
them are situated in Muslim-majority countries. Second, most of the rebel groups fighting …

Research on militias portrays them as subservient proxies of governments used to achieve
tactical goals. The conventional wisdom, however, ignores the diversity of state–militia …

The al-Qaeda Franchise asks why al-Qaeda adopted a branching-out strategy, introducing
seven franchises spread over the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia. After all, transnational …

One of the major policy concerns surrounding violent conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya,
Mali, Pakistan, Russia's North Caucasus region, Somalia, and Syria has been that these …

Though the two are often conflated, violence is not identical to conflict. This article makes the
case for studying state-armed group interactions across space, time, and levels of violence …

Historically, civil wars ended in one-sided victory. With the end of the Cold War, however, the
very nature of how civil wars end shifted: wars became two times more likely to terminate in …

When insurgent organizations factionalize and fragment, it can profoundly shape a civil war:
its intensity, outcome, and duration. In this extended treatment of this complex and important …

Violent conflict among rebels is a common feature of civil wars and insurgencies. Yet, not all
rebel groups are equally prone to such infighting. While previous research has focused on …

Side switching by armed groups is a prominent feature of many civil wars. Shifts in alignment
have far-reaching consequences, influencing key outcomes such as civil war duration and …

When rebels make alliances, what informs their choice of allies? Civil wars are rarely simple
contests between rebels and incumbent regimes. Rather, rival militant networks provide the …