Interstate rivalry, genocide, and politicide

Bibliographic Data

ID5084819
AuthorsGary Uzonyi (0000-0001-6006-993X, University of Tennessee at Knoxville, corresponding author)
Year2018
Volume55
Issue4
Pages476-490
Publication date2018-07-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Peace Research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-3433 • E-ISSN: 1460-3578
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0022343317741186
OpenAlexW2787393501
LanguageEN
Citations received14
References cited74

Interstate rivalry not only influences a country's international behavior, but also its domestic conduct. Here, I focus on the connection between interstate rivalry and domestic government mass killing, specifically genocide and politicide. I argue that interstate rivalry has both direct and indirect influences on a government's decision to use mass violence against its civilian population. Directly, countries engaged in rivalry experience a heightened state of military tension, which increases the likelihood that the country will resort to political mass killing when handling domestic dissent. Indirectly, rivalry increases the likelihood of both inter- and intrastate conflict, which also increases the likelihood of genocide and politicide. Statistical analysis of all country-years from 1955 to 2011 reveals that interstate rivals are more likely to engage in genocide and politicide than are other states. This research illustrates the way in which interstate rivalry influences a state's domestic politics and shapes the interactions between government and population. It also highlights the importance of how the international threat environment affects a state's willingness to engage in domestic political mass murder. These findings indicate that rivals do not only engage in the most violent interstate behavior, but also some of the deadliest domestic politics, as well

Criminology · Development economics · Economics · Environmental health · Genocide · Government (linguistics) · Macroeconomics · Poison control · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Population · Rivalry · Sociology · State (computer science) · Demography · Law · Medicine · Political Conflict and Governance · Psychology · Religion and Society Interactions · Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political Violence

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