Sociologists, political scientists, and economists have long emphasized the benefits of
monopolizing violence and the risks of failing to do so. Yet recent research on conflict, state …

" In the most widely-accepted minimalist definition, democracy is conceived as a governance
system in which citizens select their representatives through competitive elections and …

Conventional wisdom portrays war zones as chaotic and anarchic. In reality, however, they
are often orderly. This work introduces a new phenomenon in the study of civil war: wartime …

Over the last decade, organized criminal violence has reached unprecedented levels and
has caused as much violent death globally as direct armed conflict. Nonetheless, the study …

Democracy and Displacement in Colombia's Civil War is one of few books available in
English to provide an overview of the Colombian civil war and drug war. Abbey Steele draws …

This article explains why Mexican drug cartels went to war in the 1990s, when the federal
government was not pursuing a major antidrug campaign. We argue that political alternation …

State interventions against organized criminal groups (OCGs) sometimes work to improve
security, but often exacerbate violence. To understand why, this article offers a theory about …

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 …

From Syria to Sudan, governments have informal ties with militias that use violence against
opposition groups and civilians. Building on research that suggests these groups offer …

Anti-insurgent militias and states attempt to erode insurgent groups' capacities and co-opt
insurgent fighters by promising and providing benefits. They do so to create a perception …