Alliances in intrastate violent conflict
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2019-08-04
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en
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In this thesis I look into the effects of the distribution of power and ideology amongst the armed actors of a civil war on their alliance formation behaviour. By determining how many powerful armed groups with different ideologies are present within a conflict I consider an armed conflict to be bipolar (two such groups) or multipolar (more than two). In bipolar conflicts armed groups form alliances with groups with the same identity. In multipolar conflicts two powerful armed group with differing ideologies that perceive a third armed group to be threatening based on its ideology and power can also form an alliance. Furthermore, weak armed groups with an ideology different to those of the powerful armed groups can form alliances with these powerful armed groups because they do not threaten them due to the power difference. Moreover, I expect the weak armed groups that ally with a powerful armed group with a different ideology to cede some influence in their internal affairs, which can result in a change in ideology for the weak armed group. I do not expect this to happen if the ideological difference is ethnic in nature. I find that this framework is congruent with the developments in the Sierra Leone civil war, as long as ideology is the dominant motivation for armed groups.
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Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen