Twisting arms and sending messages
Terrorist tactics in civil war
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4910686 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Sara Mt Polo (0000-0002-4965-6022, Rice University), Kristian Skrede Gleditsch (0000-0003-4149-3211, Department of Government, University of Essex & Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), corresponding author) |
| Year | 2016 |
| Volume | 53 |
| Issue | 6 |
| Pages | 815-829 |
| Publication date | 2016-11-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Peace Research (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0022-3433 • E-ISSN: 1460-3578 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1177/0022343316667999 |
| OpenAlex | W2184521191 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 66 |
| References cited | 51 |
We examine the strategic rationale for terrorist tactics in civil war. We identify conditions that favor terrorism as a tactic in armed civil conflicts as well as the specific targets as a function of rebel characteristics, goals, and government responses to political demands. Terrorist tactics can be helpful as an instrument to coerce the government in asymmetric conflicts, as rebels are typically weak relative to the government. But terrorism can also help communicate the goals and resolve of a group when there is widespread uncertainty. We consider the strategic importance and rationale for terrorism in terms of the frequency of attacks and specific targets, and analyze our propositions using new data linking actors from the Uppsala/PRIO Armed Conflict Data and the Global Terrorism Database. Consistent with our expectations, we find that terrorism is used more extensively in civil conflicts by weaker groups and when attacks can help the group convey its goals without undermining popular support. Groups with more inclusive audiences are more likely to focus on 'hard' or official targets, while groups with more sectarian audiences are more likely to attack 'soft' targets and civilians
Computer security · Function (biology) · Government (linguistics) · Poison control · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Public relations · Sociology · Spanish Civil War · Terrorism · Computer Science · Crime, Illicit Activities, and Governance · Law · Medicine · Political Conflict and Governance · Psychology · Social Psychology · Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political Violence
The Importance of Being Earnest (in Mediation)
Geography and the Certainty of Terrorism Event Coding
Is There a Rebel Resource Curse? Ideological Appeals, Material Incentives, and the Success of Rebel Organizations
Thinking Outside of the Box
Terrorists as Rebels
The Impact of Commercial Military Actors on Armed Conflict Termination, 1990–2010
Inside the proxy relationship
Rebel group legitimacy, ideology and durable peace
From indicators to insight
The effects of social media on domestic terrorism
Fighting for survival
Why do some terrorist campaigns escalate to civil wars but others do not
Delegating repression
An Ever More Violent World
Terrorist campaigns and the growth of the Muslim population
Terrorism and Spoiling in Post-Conflict States
The Effect of Child Soldiers on Rebel Violence against Civilians
One Perspective on the Evolution of Civil Wars Research
Marxism and Terrorism
Teaching from experience
Women without a tactical advantage
The tradeoffs of using female suicide bombers
Magically powerful leaders and the resilience of rebel groups
Shaken or stirred? Terrorism and third-party state resolve in civil war interventions
Terrorism in armed conflict
United Nations peacekeeping and terrorism
Hard choices, soft targets
The War Will Come to Your Street”
Armed groups
Civilian Mass Killings Perpetrated by Nonstate Actors
Military Power and Ideological Appeals of Religious Extremists
Introducing the Proscription of Armed Actors Dataset
Not-so-average after all
Religion and terrorism
Targeting telecommunications
Peace Negotiations and Civilian Targeting
A Call to Arms
Why do terrorists target the energy industry? A review of kidnapping, violence and attacks against energy infrastructure
Ethnic inclusion, democracy, and terrorism
Violent Competition and Terrorist Restraint
Fighting for Peace? The Direct and Indirect Effects of Women’s Participation in Rebel Groups on Peace Negotiations
A Double-Edge Sword? Mass Media and Nonviolent Dissent in Autocracies
Mutually Assured Distrust
Rebel Rivalry and the Strategic Nature of Rebel Group Ideology and Demands
Talking to the Shameless
When Civilians Are Attacked
Oil Wealth, Winning Coalitions, and Duration of Civil Wars
Integrating Conflict Event Data
Recruiting Rebels
Carrots, Sticks, and Insurgent Targeting of Civilians
Diversionary Rebel Violence in Territorial Civil War
To Blame or to Support? Large-scale Insurgent Attacks on Civilians and Public Trust in State Institutions
The Geography of Separatist Violence
Taking Civilians
Making Peace or Preventing It? UN Peacekeeping, Terrorism, and Civil War Negotiations
The Power to Resist
Violence Against Civilians During Armed Conflict
Do UN peace operations lead to more terrorism? Repertoires of rebel violence and third-party interventions
The quality of terrorist violence
Going underground
Your space or mine? Competition, control, and the spatial profile of militant violence against civilians
Territorial control in civil wars
From doctrine to detonation
The magical practices of rebel organizations
Gendered preferences
Introducing the Strategies of Resistance Data Project
Insurgent Collective Action and Civil War in El Salvador
The Paradox of Terrorism in Civil War
The Political Terror Scale (PTS)
How Armed Groups Fight
PRIO Conflict Site 1989–2008
The analytics of continuing conflict
International Terrorism and World Security
Repression Hurts
Ethnicity, the State, and the Duration of Civil War
Terrorism in the Context of Civil War
The Nature of the Beast
Competition, Differentiation, and the Severity of Terrorist Attacks
Terrorism and Civil War
Deterrence or Escalation
Expanded Trade and GDP Data
It Takes Two
Does Democracy Promote or Reduce Transnational Terrorist Incidents
Rebels without a Territory
A Tale of Two Types
Roving Bandits? The Geographical Evolution of African Armed Conflicts
Do Terrorists Win? Rebels' Use of Terrorism and Civil War Outcomes
Explaining External Support for Insurgent Groups
Rationalist explanations for war
War Is in the Error Term
The Causes of Terrorism
Domestic Terrorism
Rewarding Bad Behavior
What Is Civil War
Armed conflicts, 1946-2014
Introducing the UCDP Georeferenced Event Dataset
Rebel capability and strategic violence against civilians
Confronting Terrorisms
Palestinian Suicide Bombing
Does democracy encourage terrorism
Relative Capability and Rebel Objective in Civil War
Tracking Democracy's Third Wave with the Polity III Data
Ideology in civil war
Armed Conflict 1946-2001
One-Sided Violence Against Civilians in War
Domestic versus transnational terrorism
The analytical study of terrorism
Press Freedom and the Democratic Peace
A Theoretical Analysis of Transnational Terrorism
Explaining Support for Combatants during Wartime
Islamists and Nationalists
| Unique citing works | 66 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 6,6 |
| Citation span | 2016 - 2026 (11) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 65 |