Civil War What is a Civil War o Remember War is declared defined at exactly 1 000 battle deaths o Civil war is a form of intrastate war Most are an insurgency usually ununiformed often unorganized Did we just kill an insurgent or a civilian this is often unclear Both sides must be dying including the government If only citizens are dying it is a slaughter It cannot be one sided The 1 000 deaths must be per year not total Expanded definition of which deaths count Civil wars can go on for decades at a really low level as in occurring a century with only 10 people dying per year So is this still a war Maybe maybe not That is why the definition is needed o Why study civil war in a class on IR Often have an international component and spill into other continents Vietnam war began as civil war and led to unrest in other countries thereby becoming an international event Same theories can explain both inter and intra state wars o Why rebel If no one is rebelling there is no civil war Civil wars are fairly common and kill more people than interstate wars Territory Often occur over this Policy who changes gov law Regime who controls government Separatism self determinism country wants to rule themselves o Causes relating to war Incomplete Information Credible Commitments Issue Indivisibility cannot divide goods o Irredentism You desire for a portion of another country to join your country Often due to co ethnicity o Policy change o Regime change A way to determine legislative movement Deciding who has the power Risking death freedom sovereignty of anyone is difficult to do as people aren t like to do such things to effect change and therefore make yourself vulnerable o Why does dissatisfaction lead to armed conflict Strong ethnic religious ties make mobilization easier Resources of rebels No peaceful alternative Wealth of country Terrain International Interests co ethnics and proxy wars The same framework to describe state wars is used to describe intrastate wars A Bargaining Framework of Civil War o Civil war as the failure of bargaining between states and rebels o The costs of war and bargaining ranges There should be a range of outcomes that both sides prefer to war o Power changes frequently in civil wars o Commitment to disarm o Civil War strategies Most civil wars and rebellions are insurgencies due to lack of information Rarely fought between 2 organized equally strong militaries Insurgency and counter insurgency You need a lack of information in order for a bluff to work o Asymmetric war when one side has more power over another ie terrorism o Most wars take the form of insurgency where smaller rebel groups take the form of hit and run strategies and attack in small battles o Insurgents need places to hide and food to eat and so they often rely on civilians for survival
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