Militant Splinter Groups and the Use of Violence

Bibliographic Data

ID10071669
AuthorsKaitlyn Robinson (0000-0002-1270-2507, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA, corresponding author), Iris Malone (0000-0003-2487-2754, Independent researcher)
Year2023
Volume68
Issue2-3
Pages404-430
Publication date2023-04-08
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Conflict Resolution (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-0027 • E-ISSN: 1552-8766
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/00220027231165466
PMID41244749
OpenAlexW4362717772
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited50

Existing research portrays militant splinter groups as more violent than their parent organizations due to factors like more extreme preferences or capacity-building needs. Though widely held, the assumption that splinters are particularly violent has not been systematically tested. In this paper, we develop and test an alternative explanation for splinter behavior. We argue splinter groups often appear less violent than their parents due to an underlying selection effect. Splinters break away where there are large organizational barriers to internally address a faction’s grievances. These barriers tend to exist in well-organized parents that are also capable of high levels of violence. Splinter groups lack this established organizational infrastructure, resulting in lower levels of relative violence. We test this logic with an original dataset on parent and splinter groups and a pair of comparative case studies. We find that splinters are less violent than parent organizations, challenging conventional wisdom

Criminology · Militant · Political science · Politics · Selection (genetic algorithm · Sociology · Test (biology · Computer Science · Crime, Illicit Activities, and Governance · Law · Political Conflict and Governance · Psychology · Social Psychology · Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political Violence

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