Civil War and Intrastate Armed Conflict

Civil wars and intrastate armed conflict are the predominant form of organized violence in the contemporary era. Beyond their direct devastating impact, they fundamentally change societies and are linked to broader global issues and challenges. Taking a thematic approach with a focus on conflict management and peacebuilding, this accessible textbook engages with recent research and comprehensive data to explore the nature of civil war and violent intrastate conflict. With analysis of current and historical conflicts integrated into the chapter coverage, helpful features include boxes highlighting key cases and topics, discussion points opening each chapter, graphs that illustrate important trends, photographs of significant conflicts, suggested readings for each chapter, and a timeline signposting major conflict and security events since 1945. Lecture slides are provided to instructors as an accessible entry point to topics for students from different backgrounds, including those less familiar with data.

• Features an array of in-text pedagogical features, including case studies, discussion questions, end-of-chapter summaries, and lists of further readings
• Incorporates cutting-edge topics such as the impact of new technology and social media, hybrid war, and new methodological approaches such as remote sensing, geo-spatial analysis, and big data analysis
• Emphasizes conflict management and peacebuilding, with chapters explicitly linking conflict management research to the main topic of each chapter
• Takes a data-centered approach, utilizing information from sources such as the Uppsala Conflict Data Program and the Armed Conflict Location and Events Dataset, including graphics created specifically for the book