Anthony Vinci
Biographic Data
| ID | 3947201 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Anthony Vinci |
| GIVEN NAMES | Anthony |
| FAMILY NAME | Vinci |
| SIGNATURE | VINCI A |
| AFFILIATIONS | London School of Economics and Political Science |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 9 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 58 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 9 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2005 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2008 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
Becoming the enemy
The United States and Al Qaeda represent two fundamentally different forms of warfare. The US, with its basis in the Western way of warfare, relies on an almost totally instrumental form of warfare and Al Qaeda, with its basis in the Islamic way of warfare, fights an expressive, existential form of warfare. This paper illustrates how both sides' ways of warfare are converging toward each other. It also argues that this is in fact a good thing bec…
Anarchy, Failed States, and Armed Groups
Systemic theories of international politics divide the world into anarchic and hierarchic systems. Conventionally, the boundary of each system is based on juridically defined territorial borders. This article argues that within collapsed and “fragmented” states there exist autonomous armed groups, which make these states by definition anarchic systems. Unlike earlier accounts of such “domestic anarchy,” this article argues that the domestic anarc…
Like Worms in the Entrails of a Natural Man’
Warlords are increasingly significant actors in domestic and international politics. Yet, our understanding of them is often one-sided – based on either the ‘greed’ or ‘grievance’ approach. This paper seeks to mend this deficiency through a detailed and holistic conceptual analysis of warlords, which integrates political, economic, military, and social aspects of warlord organisations. It begins with an overview of past efforts to define and anal…
Existential Motivations in the Lord's Resistance Army’s Continuing Conflict
This article argues that although the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) may have begun its war for instrumental goals, such as to create political change, these goals have largely been replaced by existential motivations, in the sense that the LRA organization fights in order to continue providing security and a vocation to its members, which would be lost by a return to wider society. It is posited that the factor allowing for this turn from instrume…
Combat Motivation in Non-State Armed Groups
Existing analyses of non-state armed-group combat motivations are inadequate because they essentialize combat motivation, fail to recognize the polymorphous character of non-state warfare, and confound agency and structure by equating individual combatant motivation with the context of the conflict. In order to account for the more dynamic nature of combat motivation in armed groups versus conventional militaries, this article offers a two-dimens…
The “Problems of Mobilization” and the Analysis of Armed Groups
you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. --Sun Tzu (1) The first step in knowing your enemy is deciding what to call him. When dealing with non-state, armed groups, there is a set list of categories which are used for classification. These categories include insurgent, guerilla, warlord, terrorist, and militia. From this initial classification we tend to apply a set of assumptions about the grou…
Greed-Grievance Reconsidered
Although the greed-grievance approach has brought significant insight to the causes and conduct of civil wars by providing a coherent explanation of armed group motivations, it is increasingly being called into question. This article reconsiders the approach in light of insights gleaned from International Relations theory, specifically Realism. In particular, it will use the levels of analysis approach and the analytical separation between means …
An analysis and comparison of armed groups in Somalia
Protracted state collapse in Somalia has led to a multiplication and diversification of armed groups. We can speak of at least five types of armed group: faction, warlord, business, court, and Islamic militias. These groups differ in important ways, yet often are simply classified as ‘militia’ or ‘warlord’. This essay seeks to add a measure of analytical rigour to the classification of armed groups and provides a comparison using a framework of p…
The Strategic Use of Fear by the Lord's Resistance Army
The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) has created a pervasive climate of fear in northern Uganda. This study addresses the purpose of this conduct. Diverging from the traditional ‘greed-grievance’ approach to the study of new wars, the LRA's behaviour is analyzed from a strategic perspective. Specifically, the article focuses on the LRA's use of mutilation, abduction, surprise, and unpredictable attacks. The conclusion is that the LRA is strategically…
Anarchy, Failed States, and Armed Groups
Systemic theories of international politics divide the world into anarchic and hierarchic systems. Conventionally, the boundary of each system is based on juridically defined territorial borders. This article argues that within collapsed and “fragmented” states there exist autonomous armed groups, which make these states by definition anarchic systems. Unlike earlier accounts of such “domestic anarchy,” this article argues that the domestic anarc…
The Strategic Use of Fear by the Lord's Resistance Army
The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) has created a pervasive climate of fear in northern Uganda. This study addresses the purpose of this conduct. Diverging from the traditional ‘greed-grievance’ approach to the study of new wars, the LRA's behaviour is analyzed from a strategic perspective. Specifically, the article focuses on the LRA's use of mutilation, abduction, surprise, and unpredictable attacks. The conclusion is that the LRA is strategically…
Existential Motivations in the Lord's Resistance Army’s Continuing Conflict
This article argues that although the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) may have begun its war for instrumental goals, such as to create political change, these goals have largely been replaced by existential motivations, in the sense that the LRA organization fights in order to continue providing security and a vocation to its members, which would be lost by a return to wider society. It is posited that the factor allowing for this turn from instrume…
Combat Motivation in Non-State Armed Groups
Existing analyses of non-state armed-group combat motivations are inadequate because they essentialize combat motivation, fail to recognize the polymorphous character of non-state warfare, and confound agency and structure by equating individual combatant motivation with the context of the conflict. In order to account for the more dynamic nature of combat motivation in armed groups versus conventional militaries, this article offers a two-dimens…
Greed-Grievance Reconsidered
Although the greed-grievance approach has brought significant insight to the causes and conduct of civil wars by providing a coherent explanation of armed group motivations, it is increasingly being called into question. This article reconsiders the approach in light of insights gleaned from International Relations theory, specifically Realism. In particular, it will use the levels of analysis approach and the analytical separation between means …
Like Worms in the Entrails of a Natural Man’
Warlords are increasingly significant actors in domestic and international politics. Yet, our understanding of them is often one-sided – based on either the ‘greed’ or ‘grievance’ approach. This paper seeks to mend this deficiency through a detailed and holistic conceptual analysis of warlords, which integrates political, economic, military, and social aspects of warlord organisations. It begins with an overview of past efforts to define and anal…
An analysis and comparison of armed groups in Somalia
Protracted state collapse in Somalia has led to a multiplication and diversification of armed groups. We can speak of at least five types of armed group: faction, warlord, business, court, and Islamic militias. These groups differ in important ways, yet often are simply classified as ‘militia’ or ‘warlord’. This essay seeks to add a measure of analytical rigour to the classification of armed groups and provides a comparison using a framework of p…
Becoming the enemy
The United States and Al Qaeda represent two fundamentally different forms of warfare. The US, with its basis in the Western way of warfare, relies on an almost totally instrumental form of warfare and Al Qaeda, with its basis in the Islamic way of warfare, fights an expressive, existential form of warfare. This paper illustrates how both sides' ways of warfare are converging toward each other. It also argues that this is in fact a good thing bec…
The Strategic Use of Fear by the Lord's Resistance Army
The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) has created a pervasive climate of fear in northern Uganda. This study addresses the purpose of this conduct. Diverging from the traditional ‘greed-grievance’ approach to the study of new wars, the LRA's behaviour is analyzed from a strategic perspective. Specifically, the article focuses on the LRA's use of mutilation, abduction, surprise, and unpredictable attacks. The conclusion is that the LRA is strategically…
The “Problems of Mobilization” and the Analysis of Armed Groups
you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. --Sun Tzu (1) The first step in knowing your enemy is deciding what to call him. When dealing with non-state, armed groups, there is a set list of categories which are used for classification. These categories include insurgent, guerilla, warlord, terrorist, and militia. From this initial classification we tend to apply a set of assumptions about the grou…
Greed-Grievance Reconsidered
Although the greed-grievance approach has brought significant insight to the causes and conduct of civil wars by providing a coherent explanation of armed group motivations, it is increasingly being called into question. This article reconsiders the approach in light of insights gleaned from International Relations theory, specifically Realism. In particular, it will use the levels of analysis approach and the analytical separation between means …
An analysis and comparison of armed groups in Somalia
Protracted state collapse in Somalia has led to a multiplication and diversification of armed groups. We can speak of at least five types of armed group: faction, warlord, business, court, and Islamic militias. These groups differ in important ways, yet often are simply classified as ‘militia’ or ‘warlord’. This essay seeks to add a measure of analytical rigour to the classification of armed groups and provides a comparison using a framework of p…
Like Worms in the Entrails of a Natural Man’
Warlords are increasingly significant actors in domestic and international politics. Yet, our understanding of them is often one-sided – based on either the ‘greed’ or ‘grievance’ approach. This paper seeks to mend this deficiency through a detailed and holistic conceptual analysis of warlords, which integrates political, economic, military, and social aspects of warlord organisations. It begins with an overview of past efforts to define and anal…
Existential Motivations in the Lord's Resistance Army’s Continuing Conflict
This article argues that although the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) may have begun its war for instrumental goals, such as to create political change, these goals have largely been replaced by existential motivations, in the sense that the LRA organization fights in order to continue providing security and a vocation to its members, which would be lost by a return to wider society. It is posited that the factor allowing for this turn from instrume…
Combat Motivation in Non-State Armed Groups
Existing analyses of non-state armed-group combat motivations are inadequate because they essentialize combat motivation, fail to recognize the polymorphous character of non-state warfare, and confound agency and structure by equating individual combatant motivation with the context of the conflict. In order to account for the more dynamic nature of combat motivation in armed groups versus conventional militaries, this article offers a two-dimens…
Becoming the enemy
The United States and Al Qaeda represent two fundamentally different forms of warfare. The US, with its basis in the Western way of warfare, relies on an almost totally instrumental form of warfare and Al Qaeda, with its basis in the Islamic way of warfare, fights an expressive, existential form of warfare. This paper illustrates how both sides' ways of warfare are converging toward each other. It also argues that this is in fact a good thing bec…
Anarchy, Failed States, and Armed Groups
Systemic theories of international politics divide the world into anarchic and hierarchic systems. Conventionally, the boundary of each system is based on juridically defined territorial borders. This article argues that within collapsed and “fragmented” states there exist autonomous armed groups, which make these states by definition anarchic systems. Unlike earlier accounts of such “domestic anarchy,” this article argues that the domestic anarc…
Law (9 works) · Political science (9 works) · Law (7 works) · Sociology (7 works) · Political economy (5 works) · Politics and Conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Middle East (5 works) · Epistemology (4 works) · Philosophy (4 works) · Philosophy (4 works) · Politics (4 works)