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The Social Processes of Civil War

The Wartime Transformation of Social Networks

Bibliographic Data

ID6232980
AuthorsElisabeth Jean Wood (0000-0001-7504-8699, Department of Political Science, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520; and Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501, corresponding author)
Year2008
Volume11
Issue1
Pages539-561
Publication date2008-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAnnual Review of Political Science (BOOK_SERIES)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1094-2939 • E-ISSN: 1545-1577
PublisherAnnual Reviews (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1146/annurev.polisci.8.082103.104832
OpenAlexW2119977277
LanguageEN
Citations received302
References cited49

Little attention has been paid to the social processes of civil war—the transformation of social actors, structures, norms, and practices—that sometimes leave enduring legacies for the postwar period. In this article, I explore the changes wrought by six social processes: political mobilization, military socialization, polarization of social identities, militarization of local authority, transformation of gender roles, and fragmentation of the local political economy. Some of these social processes occur in peacetime, but war may radically change their pace, direction, or consequences, with perhaps irreversible effects. I trace the wide variation in these processes during the wars in four countries: Peru, El Salvador, Sri Lanka, and Sierra Leone. I analyze the effects of these processes as transformations in social networks. These processes reconfigure social networks in a variety of ways, creating new networks, dissolving some, and changing the structure of others

Demobilization · Development economics · Economics · Militarization · Polarization (electrochemistry · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Social change · Social transformation · Sociology · Spanish Civil War · Gender, Security, and Conflict · Law · Peacebuilding and International Security · Political Conflict and Governance

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Unique citing works302
Citations per year17,76
Citation span2009 - 2026 (18)
Citation velocitycurrent
Highly citedYes
Citation typesNeutral: 299

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