Battle Losses and Rebel Violence: Raising the Costs for Fighting
27 July 2007
Popular support is believed crucial for achieving victory in a civil conflict. If so, what explains rebel atrocities against civilians? In a recent article in the journal Terrorism and Political Violence, Lisa Hultman argues that targeting civilians is a rational strategy pursued by rebels who lack the military capacity to defeat the government. She finds strong evidence for her hypothesis that battlefield setbacks and one-sided violence against...
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