'No peace, no war' proponents? How pro-regime militias affect civil war termination and outcomes. (March 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Aliyev, Huseyn
• Is Part Of: Cooperation and conflict. Volume 54:Number 1(2019:Mar.)
• Page Start: 64
• Page End: 82
• Publication Date: 2019-03
• Subjects: Armed groups -- civil war -- conflict outcome -- extra-dyadic -- extra-state; International cooperation -- Periodicals; 327.05
• DOI: 10.1177/0010836718766380
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0010-8367

Abstract

Previous research on non-state actors involved in civil wars has tended to disregard the role of extra-dyad agents in influencing conflict outcomes. Little is known as to whether the presence of such extra-dyadic actors as pro-regime militias affects conflict termination and outcomes. This article develops and tests a number of hypotheses on the pro-government militias' effect upon civil war outcomes. It proposes that pro-regime militias involved in intrastate conflicts tend to act as proponents of 'no peace, no war', favouring low-activity violence and ceasefires over other conflict outcomes. These hypotheses are examined using an expanded dataset on pro-government militias and armed conflict in a statistical analysis of 229 civil war episodes from 1991 to 2015. These findings shed new light on the role of extra-state actors in civil wars.