Violence and Restraint in Civil War: Civilian Targeting in the Shadow of International Law

Media coverage of civil wars often focuses on the most gruesome atrocities and the most extreme conflicts, which might lead one to think that all civil wars involve massive violence against civilians. In truth, many governments and rebel groups exercise restraint in their fighting, largely avoiding violence against civilians in compliance with international law. Governments and rebel groups make strategic calculations about whether to target civilians by evaluating how domestic and international audiences are likely to respond to violence. Restraint is also a deliberate strategic choice: governments and rebel groups often avoid targeting civilians and abide by international legal standards to appeal to domestic and international audiences for diplomatic support. This book presents a wide range of evidence of the strategic use of violence and restraint, using original data on violence against civilians in civil wars from 1989 to 2010 as well as in-depth analyses of conflicts in Azerbaijan, El Salvador, Indonesia, Sudan, Turkey, and Uganda.

Author: Jessica A. Stanton
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 10/03/2016
Pages: 334
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.05lbs
Size: 9.10h x 6.04w x 0.83d
ISBN: 9781107670945

Review Citation(s):
Choice 04/01/2017

About the Author
Stanton, Jessica A.: - Jessica Stanton is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania. Previously, she held Fellowships at the Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University, California, the John M. Olin Institute for Strategic Studies at Harvard University, Massachusetts, and the Christopher H. Browne Center for International Politics at the University of Pennsylvania. Her research has been published in The Journal of Politics and the Journal of Conflict Resolution.