The logic of violence in civil war

Description

By analytically decoupling war and violence, this book explores the causes and dynamics of violence in civil war. Against the prevailing view that such violence is an instance of impenetrable madness, the book demonstrates that there is logic to it and that it has much less to do with collective emotions, ideologies, and cultures than currently believed. Kalyvas specifies a novel theory of selective violence: it is jointly produced by political actors seeking information and individual civilians trying to avoid the worst but also grabbing what opportunities their predicament affords them. Violence, he finds, is never a simple reflection of the optimal strategy of its users; its profoundly interactive character defeats simple maximization logics while producing surprising outcomes, such as relative nonviolence in the 'frontlines' of civil war.

Subjects

Series Statement

• Cambridge studies in comparative politics

Other Editions

• The logic of violence in civil warCambridge University Press2006-01-01
• The logic of violence in civil warCentro de Estudios Avanzados en Ciencias Sociales, Instituto Juan March de Estudios e Investigaciones2000-01-01
• The Logic of Violence in Civil WareBookCambridge University Press2006-01-01