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The Ontology of "Political Violence": Action and Identity in Civil WarsAuthor(s): Stathis N. KalyvasSource: Perspectives on Politics, Vol. 1, No. 3 (Sep., 2003), pp. 475-494Published by: American Political Science AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3688707.
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Articles
The
Ontology
f Political
iolence"
The
Ontology
f Politicaliolence":ction
and
dentity
nCivil
Wars
By
tathis
.
Kalyvas
I discusseveral
onceptualroblems
aised
y
urrent
nderstandings
f
olitical
iolence,
specially
s
they
ertain
o
ctions,
motivations,
nd dentities
n
ivil
ars. ctionson he
round"
ftenurnut
oberelatedo ocal nd
rivate
onflicts
ather
than hewar's
riving
or
master")
leavage.
he
disjunction
etween
ynamics
tthe
op
nd tthe ottomndermines
re-
vailingssumptions
bout
ivil
wars,
hichre nformed
y
wo
ompetingnterpretive
rames,
ost
ecently
escribed
s
"greed
nd
rievance."
atherhan
osit
dichotomy
etween
reed
nd
rievance,
point
o he
nteractionetween
olitical
and rivatedentitiesnd ctions.ivil arsre ot inaryonflicts,ut omplexnd mbiguousrocesseshat osterhe joint"
actionf
ocal nd
upralocal
ctors,ivilians,
nd
rmies,
hose
lliance
esults
nviolencehat
ggregates
et
till eflects
heir
diverse
oals.
t sthe
onvergence
f ocalmotivesnd
upralocal
mperatives
hat ndowsivil
ars ith heir
articular
nd
often
uzzling
haracter,
traddling
he ivide
etween
he
olitical
nd he
rivate,
he ollectivend he ndividual.
least
15
people
died
in
Afghanistan
hen
gunmen
attackednisolated
olice ost
near he
ountry'sapital,
Kabul,
n
August
002.The
dentity
f
he ttackersould
not
be ascertained.
he
chief f
police
here aid
that hemen
were
Taliban nd
supporters
f the terrorist
rganization
l-
Qaeda.
"Other ocal
ources," owever,
uggested
hat
hemen
were
hievesnd ooters
ooking
o
control
he
oad
or
evenue.1
This toryllustrateshe oor ualityf nformationn civilwars;
it also
uggests
hat
laims bout
dentity
nd ction
may
e self-
serving
nd nformation
ay
be
instrumentally
anipulated
y
variousctors. ess
bviously,
t
hints t
perception
nformed
y
rigid,
inary
ategories
inked o
mutually
xclusive otivations:
that
he ttackersouldhavebeen ither aliban r
thieves,
nd
their
motivationsould
have
been
ither
political"
if
hey
ere
Taliban)
r
private"
if
hey
ere
hieves).
ut he
unmen
ould
have
been
both
hievesnd
Taliban-simultaneously
r
sequen-
tially,
epending
n
the ontext.
ikewise,
heir
iolence
ould
have
beenboth
olitically
nd
privately
riven.
This
story
pitomizes
ome
f
the
problems
ith ur
current
understandingf ivilwars, articularlyur nterpretationf he
identitiesnd actions f
the
ctors,
long
with
heir
llegiances
and
motivations,
nd our take n
thewar's
iolence.
revailing
perceptions
re
nformed
y
two
ompeting
nterpretive
rames,
typically
uxtaposedichotomously-most
ecently
s
"greed
nd
grievance."'
he first
s
Hobbesian n
inspiration,
tressing
n
ontology
f ivilwars
haracterized
y
he
breakdown
f
uthor-
ity
nd
subsequent
narchy.
n
this
view,
which
an be
traced
Stathis .
Kalyvas
s
professor
fpolitical
cience t
Yale
University
(stathis.kalyvas@yale.edu).
e is
currently
ompleting
manu-
script
ntitled he
Logic
of
Violence n Civil
War. The
author
thanksMattKocher nd Harris
Mylonas,
s well s
Jennifer
Hochschild
nd three
nonymous
eviewers,
or
their omments.
back o
Thucydides,
ivil
wars
ncourage
he
rivatization
fvio-
lence,
ringing
o the
ore,
n a
virtually
andom
ashion,
ll orts
of
motivations
n what s a "war f
all
against
ll."3
his thesis
informs
urrent
nderstandings
f
thnicivil
wars4
nd
o-called
"new
wars"
llegedly
otivated
y
greed
nd
loot.' The other
frame,
hich
we
may
all
Schmittian,
ntails
n
ontology
f ivil
wars
based
on abstract
roup
oyalties
nd
beliefs,
hereby
he
politicalnemy ecomes privatedversarynly yvirtuef a
prior
ollective nd
impersonalnmity.
he
impersonal
nd
abstract
nmity
hat
CarlSchmitt
hought
as
the
ssentialea-
ture f
politics6
choes
ousseau's
erception
f
war,
ot s "man
to
man"
but
as "state o
state."
ndividuals,
laimed
Rousseau,
were
nly
nemies
y
ccident,
ndthen
nly
s soldiers.7
n
con-
trast o the
Hobbesian
hesis,
hich
rioritizes
he
privatephere
at
the
xclusion
f the
political,
he
chmittian
ne
stresses
he
fundamentally
olitical
ature f civilwars nd their
ttendant
processes;
t nforms
nterpretations
f
raditional
ideological"
r
"revolutionary"
ivil
wars,8
s well
s
arguments
bout thnic ivil
wars
nd "intercommunaliolence" hat tress
trong
eliefs,
group nmity,nd culturalantipathy.9
Rather
han
osit
dichotomy
f
greed
nd
grievance,
point
to the
nteractionetween
olitical
nd
private
dentities
nd
actions.
begin
y
highlighting
simple, hough onsequential,
observation
hat
ppears
o be as
common s it s
theoretically
marginalized:
ivil
wars re
not
binary
onflicts
ut
omplex
nd
ambiguous rocesses
hat ostern
apparently
assive,
hough
variable,
ix
f dentities
nd ctions-to uch
degree
s
to be
defined
y
hatmix. ut
therwise,
he
widely
bserved
mbigu-
ity
s
fundamentalatherhan
ncidentalo
civil
wars,
matter
f
structureatherhan
noise.
trace he
heoreticalource f
this
observation
o
the
disjunction
etweendentitiesnd actions t
the entral
r elite
evel,
n the ne
hand,
nd
the ocal
or
mass
level,n the ther. his
disjunction
akeswo orms:irst,ctions
"on
he
round"
fteneemmore elatedo ocal
r
private
ssues
www.apsanet.org
75
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3/21
Articles The
Ontology
f
Politicaliolence"
than o thewar's
riving
or
"master")
leavage;
econd,
ndivid-
ual
and ocal
actors
ake
dvantage
f thewar o settle
ocal
or
private
onflicts
ften
earing
ittle
r
no relationo the
auses
f
thewaror the
goals
of
the
belligerents.
his
disjunction
hal-
lenges revailing
ssumptions
bout he ocusof
agency
n
civil
wars nd raises series f
questions:
What s the
explanatory
leverage
f
interpretationsocusing
xclusively
n the
master
cleavage?
What do labels and
identities
eally
mean on the
ground?
s
it
reasonable
o infer he distribution
f
ndividual
and
ocal
llegiances
irectly
rom he
master
leavage?
s it cor-
rect o
describe
nd
analyze
ll violence
n civil
wars s
"political
violence"?
These
uestions
orce s to rethinkhe
ole f
leavages
ncivil
wars nd
challenge
heneat
plit
etween
olitical
nd
private
violence.
n this
rticle,
point
o several
mplications
nd
out-
line
an alternative
icrofoundation
f
cleavage
ased on the
interaction
f
identitiesnd
actions
t the center
nd at
the
periphery.ctorseekingower t the enter seresourcesnd
symbols
o
lly
with
eripheral
ctors
ighting
ocal
onflicts,
hus
making
or
he
joint roduction"
f
ction.
his microfounda-
tion s
fully
onsistent
ith
he observed
isjunction
etween
center nd
periphery,
hich an
now
be
reconceptualized
s
an
interaction
etween arious
entral
nd
ocal ctors
ith istinct
identities,
otivations,
nd
nterests.
This
understanding
f ivilwars
n
part
omplements
xisting
ones
nd
n
part
ubverts
hem:
hile ivil
wars xhibit oth
ure
partisan
nd anomic
ehavior,
hey
lso containctions
hat
re
simultaneously
oth;
moreover,
he
mpirical
asis
fSchmittian
and Hobbesian
nterpretations
ay
ften
e an artifact
f
biased
and ncompleteata, s well soveraggregation.emphasizehe
pitfalls
f
overlooking
mportant
vidence
ust
because
t
s not
easily ystematized.
n
certain
esearch
ields,
hecollection
f
reliablend
ystematic
ata t
themass
evel s
extremely
ifficult,
if
not
mpossible;
ivilwars
re
mong
hemost bvious
ases
n
point.
he
requisite
nalytical
nd
empirical
isaggregationI?
s
impossible
ithout
he use
of
typically
nsystematized
ine-
grained
ata.
Ultimately,
he
pecification
f
concepts,
odels,
and
causal
mechanisms
ased
on
insights
erived
rom
his
empirical
vidence
ill
mprove
hetheoretical
nalysis
f
civil
wars nd
permit
nnovative
ests
hatwill
lso ssess
his
mpiri-
cal
basis.
Complexity
nd
Ambiguity
Civilwars
re
ypically
escribed
s
binary
onflicts,
lassified
nd
understood
n the
basis
fwhat s
perceived
o be their
verar-
ching
ssue imension
r
cleavage:
e thus
peak
f
deological,
ethnic,
eligious,
r
classwars.
ikewise,
e abel
political
ctors
in ethnic
ivilwars
s ethnic
ctors,
he iolence
f thnic
ars
s
ethnic
iolence,
nd
o
on. Yet
uch haracterization
urns
ut
to
be trickier
han
nticipated,
ecause
ivilwars
usually
ntail
perplexing
ombination
f
dentities
nd
actions.
Consider
he
following
escription
f
theAmerican
Warof
Independence
n South
Carolina:
There
ame with
he true
patriotshost ffalse riends
nd
plunderers.
ndthis
wastrue
of
both ides
n this
errible
truggle.
he
outlaw
Whig
ndthe
outlaw
ory,
r
rather
he
outlaws
who
were
retended
higs
and
Tories s the
ccasion
erved,
ere
aying
aste he
ountry
almost s much
s thosewho were
ighting
or
heone
side
or
the
other.""
Years
ater,
braham incoln
escribed
he
Civil
War n
theAmerican est
s
a
situation
n which
murders
or
old
grudges,
nd murdersor
elf, roceed
nder
ny
loak hat
willbest over or he
ccasion."l12
he Chinese ivilWarwas
often
ought
y
diverse
nd
shifting
oalitions f bandits
nd
local
militias;'3
or
long
time,
heCommunists
ere or
he
bandits
"only
one of several
possible
allies
or
temporary
patrons."14
n
Manchuria,
or
nstance,
twas
xtremely
ifficult
to differentiateetween
members
of
the
Anti-Japanese
Resistance
nd
bandits
ecause
moving
rom
ne
to
another as
very
ommon:
t is estimatedhat
140,000
of a total
00,000
resistance
embers ad
a bandit
ackground.
ommon rimi-
nals
were lsoused
xtensively
uring
he
Cultural
evolution.15
The
determinants
fviolence
n the
province
f
Antioquia
ur-
ing
theColombian
Violencia
ere farmore
omplex
han
ny
innate, navoidableifferencesetweenmonolithicroups f
Liberals nd
Conservatives-the
raditional
xplanation
or
a
Violencia--might
uggest";
n
fact,
the
point
of la
Violencia,
even
n
supposed
reas
f traditional
ettlement'
here
artisan
objectives
ere he
guiding
orce
ehind
rmed
nsurrection,
s
that t was multifacetednd
ambiguous,
hat
olitics
nd
eco-
nomic considerations
an
never
be
considered
s discrete
forces."
6
In
short,
mbiguity
s endemico civil
wars;17
his urns
heir
characterization
ntoa
quest
for n
ever-deeper
real"
nature,
presumably
idden
nderneath
isleading
acades-an
exercise
akin
to
uncovering
ussian olls.
Thus,
t
is
often
rgued
hat
religious ars rereallybout lass, r classwars rereallybout
ethnicity,
r ethnic
wars re
only
bout
greed
nd
ooting,
nd
so
on.18
he
difficulty
f
characterizing
ivil
wars
s a
conceptu-
al
problem
ather
han
ne of measurement.
f
anything,
he
more etailed
he
facts,
he
bigger
he
difficulty
n
establishing
the true"
motives
nd ssues
n the
ground,
s
Paul
Brass
has
nicely
hown
n the
ase
of thnic iots
n
ndia.19
n
alternative
is to
recognize,
nstead,
hat he
motives
nderlying
ction
n
civilwar are
nherently
omplex
nd
ambiguous.
t the
same
time,
ust
o
state
his
oint
s
as
unsatisfactory
s
to
gnore
t. t
is
necessary,
nstead,
o theorize
hismore
omplex
nderstand-
ing
of
civilwars o
as to
ncorporate
t
nto
ystematic
esearch.
Doing orequires,irst,he dentificationf he ource f mbi-
guity,
hich urns
ut
to
be
located
n the
nteractionetween
center
nd
periphery.
The
Disjunction
etween
Center
nd
Periphery
Like n
many
ther
laces,
he
ccupation
fthe
Philippines
y
the
Japanese
uring
he Second
World
War
generated
oth
resistance
ovement
nd civil
war,
s some
ilipinos
ided
with
the
Japanese.
n his research
n
the
Western
isayas,
lfred
McCoy
found hat
lthough
he
ountry
nderwent
uccessive
radical
olitical
hanges
etween 941
and
1946
(including
U.S. Commonwealth
democracy,
Japanese
Military
Administration,nd national
ndependence),
rovincial
nd
municipal olitical
eaders
ept ighting
he ame
parochial
ac-
476
September
003 1
Vol.1/No.
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8/11/2019 Ontology of Political Violence
5/21
Articles The
Ontology
f
Politicaliolence"
Loire,
federalism"as
brought
n
from he
outside,
y
groups
f
armedmen
riding
n
from
yon.
ut he
xperience
f
"federalism,"
and
the
ubsequentepression
irected
gainst
hosewhohadcollab-
oratedwith
t,
nabled ne
power roup-of
lmost
xactly
he ame
social
tanding
nd wealth-to ust nother
n
those owns hat ad
beenmost ffectedy he risisemphasis ine].22
Cobb is
echoed
by
David
Stoll,
writing
bout
a
very
different
time nd
place,contemporary
uatemala:
When
utsiders
ook t
xil
country,hey
end o see t n terms f
titanic
olitical
truggle
etween eft nd
Right.
But for
most
Nebajefios,
hese re
ategories
mposed
y
xternalorcesn a situa-
tion
hey
erceive
ather
ifferently.
lass and
ethnic
ivisionshat
seem bvious
o
outsiders
re,
or
Nebajefios,
rosscut
yfamily
nd
community
ies. Because of theirwealth of local
knowledge,
Nebajefios
re
ntimately
ware
fthe
pacity
nd confusion
f
ocal
politics,
armore
o
than
nterpreters
rom
far....
What
eem
lear
consequences
f
national nd
nternational
evelopments
o cosmo-
politan
bservers
re,
or ocal
people,
rapped
n llthe
mbiguity
f
local ife.23
The
recent
ournalistic
iscovery
hat
Afghanistan
s
"a world
where ocal rivalries
nd
global
aims seem
to feed
off
ach
other"
and where
politics
re
ntensely
ocal,
with
many
warlords
wap-
ping
sides
n alliances
of convenience
hathave
shiftedwith the
changing
fortunes
f
the
22
years
of war that
began
with the
Soviet nvasion
n
1979,"24
is but the atest
nstance f a
recurring
pattern.
onsider
the
following
necdotal
evidence
from wide
variety
f
civil
wars.
Roger
Howell
stresses
the
persistence
f local structuresnd
rivalries" uringthe EnglishCivil War, "even in the face of
intense
ressures
rom
utside,
persistence
hat s
frequently
is-
guised
at first
lance
because
of
the
patterns
y
which
the abels
of the national'
struggle-royalist
ersus
parliamentarian,
res-
byterian
ersus
ndependent-were
taken
up
by
the
participants
themselves
nd
super-imposed
on the
'local'
struggle."25
detailed
study
of
Bergen
County,
New
Jersey, uring
the
AmericanRevolution
hows "that
the local and
bloody
battles
between
ebel nd
Loyal
militia
were
related o
prewar
nimosi-
ties between
ethnic
groups,
political
rivals, hurches,
nd
even
neighbors."26
he "ferocious"
ivil
war
waged
n North Carolina
during
the
American
Revolution
"involved
complexities
ften
distantfrom hestruggle etweenGreatBritain nd thecourt-
houseand statehouse
evolutionaries."27
he same was
true,
ater
on,
in the
context
of theAmerican
Civil
War. In
May
1862,
Major
General
John
M. Schofield
rgued
hat thebitter
eeling
existing
etween
he border
eople"
was "the
result f
old
feuds,
and
involves
ery
ittle,
f at
all,
the
question
of Union
or dis-
union."28
oger
Gould
shows
hatmuch
of theconflict
hat ook
place
in Parisbetween
1848 and
1872
was
related o turf
attles
between
neighborhoods
ather han
being
reflectionf theclass
struggle
hat s used
to describe
rench
politics
during
his
peri-
od.29Local
conflicts
ften
rumped
deological
nes,
writes
H. R.
Kedward n his
study
f the civilwar n
occupied
France,
uring
the Second
World
War.30
n his reconstruction
f the violent
political
battles
waged
in the
region
of western
Segovia,
in
Nicaragua,during
he ate
1920s,
Michael
Schroeder
oundthat
they
had
long
genealogies,
nd
were
deeply
nstitutionalisedt
the
ocal evel
....
[They]
emerged
rom
he
contingent
ntersec-
tion of
ethnic,
illage-level, egional,
nd national-level
olitical
struggles....
[T]he
violence
expressed
many
ongoing struggles
within
Segovian
ociety,
micro-universef conflict-ridden
ela-
tions,
developed
overtime,
mong
and between amilies, ouse-
holds,
parties,
ommunities,
atrons
nd
clients,
nd
various
ay-
ers of the state.
n
this
light,perhaps
the most
striking hing
about this violence s its
utterly
omegrown,
ocal character."31
Similar
dynamics
merged
ater
on,
during
the
Sandinista
nd
Contra civilwars. Policemen
n
Quilali,
Nicaragua,
were
basical-
ly
the
armed
ollowing
f
the
Talavera
lan,
whoseturf his
was,"
Paul Berman
reports,
dding
thatclan
politics
was "an embodi-
ment of
every
rural
Nicaraguan
event
that never did
get
ade-
quatelyreported
o the outsideworld
n
the
years
ollowing
he
Sandinista
evolution."32
A
study
f a northern
panish
ownfound hat
he main cleav-
age in its central eighborhood egan n theearly 930s as a dis-
pute
between wo doctors
ompeting
or he
title f official own
doctor,
which ntailed
lucrative
state-guaranteed
ractice.
Many
families ecame
engaged
on
the side
of
one
doctoror
the
other:
"Simultaneously,
he
political
urmoil f the
end of the
Republic
added a wider
political
dimension
o what was
in
essence
dis-
pute
based on local ssues.
he
tug-of-war
s often escribed
oday
in
terms f the iberal-conservative
ssues of the
time,
but
most
informants
gree
hat he basic issues
were ocal
and
personal."33
Clan
rivalriesn Chinese
villages
haped peasant
decisions
bout
whether o side withor
against
he Communists
uring
he civil
war there. eter
eybolt's
nalysis
f theChineseCivil War
during
theJapanese ccupationuncovers similar isjunction etween
center
nd
periphery:
Many
of
thebattles
ought mong
Chinese
had
little o do
with ollaboration r resistance.
hey
were
trug-
gles
for
power
and economic
spoils
that
pit
central uthorities
against
ocal
authorities;
ocal
authorities
gainst
ach
other,
an-
dits
gainst
merchantsnd
landlords,
ecret ocieties
gainst
an-
dits,
Guomindang
members
against
Communists,
nd so
on."34
During
the Colombian
Violencia,
he
"eliminationf members f
the
opposition
rom
articular
amlets...
appears
ohave
obeyed
the
ogic
of
personal
euds,
artisan
ifferences,
nd
intermunici-
pal
rivalries."
report
y
the
nvoy
f the Conservative
overnor
of
Antioquia
n the town
of
Cafiasgordas
evealed
a
sordid,
or-
rupt,divided, nd violent ociety ivenby factionalism,amily
feuds,
ocal
animosities,
ersonal
ealousies,
indictiveness,
reed,
conflicts
between
haves and
have-nots,
and
struggles
over
power."35
he mass
killings
that
took
place
in Indonesia
in
1965-1966
were
ostensibly
rticulated
round
the commu-
nism/anticommunism
leavage,yet
a sustained
xamination
f
regional
massacres
unearthed
ll kinds
of local conflicts.
or
instance,
n the outhern
umatra
rovince
f
Lampung,
he
vio-
lencewas caused
by
conflict etween
ocal
Muslims nd
Javanese
transmigrant
ettlers.
n some areas of
Timor,
the victims
were
Protestants,
hile
n others
hey
were
followers
f ocal
cults;
n
Lombok
they
wereBalinese
nd Chinese.
The
killings
n Central
and
East
Java
were caused
by hostility
etween
ocal
Muslim
cultural-religiousroups nown s abangan; n Balitheywere sso-
ciated
with
ong-standing
ivalries
etween
atronage roups.36
n
478
September
003
I
Vol.1/No.
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6/21
a visit o the Lebanese
ountryside,
he travelwriter
William
Dalrymple
as
urprised
o discoverhat
bloody
aid
y
Samir
Geagea's
Christian)
halangist
ilitia
gainst
he
headquarters
f
the
likewise
hristian)
aradamilitia
ed
byTony ranjieh
as
only
stensibly
struggle
bout
political
ssues
the
Phalangists
preferringebanon'sartitionndtheFranjiehsishingokeep
it
whole):
In fact
it]
had ts rue oots
n
something
ore
rim-
itive till:
century-old
lood
feud
between
sharre,
eagea's
home
town,
nd
Ehden
nd
Zgharta,
he
Franjieh
trongholds
forty
iles
o thewest."
alrymple
eaches
he
onclusionhat
"the
tory
f
the
raidwas
remarkable,
nd
revealed ore
learly
than
nything
he
medieval eudal
eality
ehind he civilized
twentieth-century
eneer f Lebanese
olitics."37
hen old
by
the
rmy
o make
n
example
f he ocal
subversives,"
hemili-
tia eader
n the
Guatemalan
amlet f Emol
Central
hosehis
victims rom
Kotoh,
Emol Central's
raditional
ivals."38
he
1983
massacre f
ournalists
y
the nhabitantsf
Uchuraccay,
Peru,ed to an extensivenvestigationhat ventuallyracedhe
massacreo the
nimosity
etween
ighlanders
nd
owlanders;
the
owlands ere asier
or
endero uminoso ebelso
penetrate
because
hey
ere
eographically
ore ccessible.
nce,however,
Sendero ecame
ssociated
ith he
owland
ommunities,
t
sparked
he
nmity
f he
highland
nes-an
enmity
hat
nthro-
pologists
ad
lready
raced o
a
long
raditionf
rivalry
etween
highland
nd owland ommunities.
9The
iberianivilwar ur-
ing
he
1990s
riggered
ens f
ocal
leavages:
It s
said hat
n some
reas hewar
n
the outh-east
eopened
ld
feuds
ating
ack othe
930s.
ertainly
tmilitarizedhe actional
disputes
hich
ad
previously
een he
tufff ocal
olitics,
nd
whichinkedocal
truggles
onationalnterests.s hewartself
ave
rise
o ocal
endettas,
r
solder
ntagonisms
ereettled
y
orcet
a
time f
war,
here
mergedmicro-politics
f
war
n
which
ertain
territoriesufferedorehan
therst
particular
oments.
he
reas
worstffected
ere hose hich ere
evastated
epeatedly
s ocal
rivalsaunchedee-saw
aids
nd
ounter-attacks
gainst
ne nother.40
The
reason
hat
oposa
tribesmen
ccepted
weapons
rom he
Sudanese
overnment
o
fightgainst
heir ormerinka nsur-
gent
omradesn
southernudan s to be
found
n
old
disputes
and
cattle
hievingmong
he two
groups.41
ost
recently
n
Congo,
analysts
istinguish
etween
he
big
war,
hemain on-
flictetweenheCongolese overnmentndthe ebelrmiesry-
ing
to
topple
t,
and the
many
maller ars
beingwageddeep
inside
ongo'sungles."
s one
nalystut
t: Thenational
evel
and the ocal
evel re wo
different
hings
n
Congo."42
All in
all,
the salience
f local
cleavages
s
ubiquitous
n
ground-level
escriptions
f ivil
war nd holds or
ocietieshat
are
harplyolarized
n terms f
class,43
eligion,44
nd ethnici-
ty.45
t wouldnot
be
an
exaggeration
o
say
hat eferenceso the
disjunction
etween enter
nd
periphery
re
present
n
almost
every
escriptive
ccount.46
This
disjunction
s
consistent ith
heobservationhat ivil
wars re weltersf
omplex
truggles"'47
ather
han
imple
ina-
ry
onflicts
eatlyrrayed
long
single
ssue imension.n this
sense, ivilwars anbe understoods processeshat rovide
medium or
variety
f
grievances
o be
realizedwithin he
greater
onflict,
articularly
hrough
iolence. s
Colin
Lucas
notes
bout
he
ounterrevolutionn southern
rance,
he
revo-
lutionary
truggle
rovided
language
or ther onflicts
f
a
social, ommunal,
r
personal
ature.48
An
understanding
f ivil
war
ynamics
s
substantially
haped
by ocal leavagess alsofullyonsistentith ecurringuggestions
thatmaster
leavages
ften
ail o account or henature f
the
conflictnd ts
iolence49
nd that iolences either nrelated
r
incompletely
elated
o
thedominantiscoursef he
war;50
hat
civilwars re
mperfect
nd fluid
ggregations
f
multiple,
ore
or less
overlapping,
maller, iverse,
nd localized ivil
wars,51
entailing
yzantine
omplexity52
nd
splintering
uthority
nto
"thousands
f
fragments
nd
micro-powers
f ocal
haracter."53
This evidence
ibes
with he
nthropologicalnsight
hat ocal
politics
s not
ust
or
primarily)
he ocalreflection
f
national
politics.
n his
analysis
f ocal
politics
n Sri
Lanka,
onathan
Spencer
hows
hat
villagers
id not
imply
ave
politics
hrust
uponthem; atherheyppropriatedoliticsnd used hem or
their
wn
purposes."
e addsthat
people
were
not
necessarily
enemies
ecause
hey
were
n
different
arties;
more
ften
hey
had
ended
up
in
different
arties
ecause
hey
were nemies."
Hence,
he
points
ut,
at east
art
f the
pparent
deological
and
sociological
ncoherencef
political arty
llegiance"
an be
tracedo the act
hat
olitics
rovides
means f
xpressing
ocal
conflicts:
It s
possible
o ee
greatart
f
village
olitics
s ittle ore han
the
ressingp
ofdomestic
isputes
n he
rappings
f
partyoliti-
cal
competition,
xploiting
he
ublic xpectation
f rouble hich
accompaniesarty
olitics
n
order o
settle
rivate
cores
n
the
idiom fpublicffairs.artyoliticsre stablishedofirmlynSri
Lanka,
n
part
ecause
f heirlective
ffinity
ith hose
ividedr
dividing
ommunitieshich
therwiseack
n
everyday
diom
n
whicho
haracterizeheirwn
isunity:
oliticsrovide
ust
uch
n
idiom.54
While
ocal
cleavages
re
by
no
means he
only
mechanism
producing
llegiance
nd
violence,
hey
ppear
o
have ubstan-
tial
mpact
n
the
distributionf
llegiances
s well
s the on-
tent, irection,
nd
ntensity
f iolence.
his
videnceends
up-
port
o the
view hat oth he
distributionf
allegiances
cross
the
opulation
nd he
iolence
hat akes
lace
re ften
though
notalways) functionfpreexistingocalrivalries hose on-
nection o the
cleavage
hat nforms he
civilwar s tenuous nd
loose-even when
onflictsre framedn
thediscursiveermi-
nology
f themaster
leavage.
f
course,
vidence an
only
e
anecdotal
ince,
or bvious
easons,
e ack
ystematic
tudies f
the
dynamics
f ivilwars t
the ocal
evel,
s well s
measuresf
local
leavages.55
eaving
side he
ften
uestionable
uality
f
aggregate
macro)
ataon civil
wars,
t
s worth
oting
hat he
available
vidences
particularly
triking
nd deservesttention
sincemacro-leveltudies
ave
onsistently
verlookedndmisin-
terpreted
hese
ynamics.
lthough
t
s
mpossible
o
ascertaint
this
oint
he elative
eight
f
ocal
leavages
ithin
nd across
wars,
t s
necessary
o
acknowledge
he
ignificance
fthis
he-
nomenon;his hould
park
research
rogram
eading
o a
rig-
orous
mpirical
tatementbout ts
revalence.
ne
obvious
ath
www.apsanet.org
79
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7/21
Articles
The
Ontology
f
Political
iolence"
is to
incorporate
hese
nsights
xplicitly
nto
deductive odels
whose
redictions
an then e
independently
nd
systematically
tested ith
ine-grained
ata.56
Althoughubiquitous
n the
descriptive
iterature,
hese
dynamics
ave
beenoverlooked
y
macro-leveltudies
f civil
wars,both
descriptive
nd theoretical-with
ery
ew
xcep-
tions.57
nstead,
most ccounts
nferocal nd
ndividual
denti-
ties nd actions
irectly
rom
he
war's
master
leavage.
ocal
cleavages
re
neglected
or number
freasons. irst
s a
division
of
abor
eparating
he asks f
collecting
vidence t themicro
level nd
interpreting
acro-dynamics;
econd
s an
epistemic
preference
or he universalver
he
particular,
nd
the
easily
codable
ver
messy
vidence;
hird
s the
mbiguity
f ocal-level
dynamics,
hich
n some
ways arallels
hedistinctionetween
"objective"
tructures
nd
"subjective"
ctions;58
ourth
s the
fact hat ocal
cleavages
re
typically
rticulated
nthe
anguage
of
the
war'smaster
leavage,
ften
nstrumentally.
o
give
a
recentxample,ocalfactionsnAfghanistanccused neanoth-
er
of
being
aliban
r
al-Qaeda
o as
to haverivals ombed
y
the U.S.
Air Force.
9
As a
result, aive
bserversnd
partici-
pants,
ncluding
he
principals,
end
to miscode ocal cleav-
ages.60
Overall,
cademic
tudies
ften harewith "official"
historiographies
he
tendency
o
erase
roubling
nternal ivi-
sions-"class
issures,
cts f
reachery,
r
peasant
nitiatives
hat
were
ndependent
f
elite ontrol"-and
o smooth ver
the
past's
agged dges."6''
At
he
ame
ime,
esearchers
ho re
ttuned
othe
rass
oots
(anthropologists,
ournalists,
icro-oriented
istorians)
eport
these
ynamics
ut
fail o theorize
hem.
starting
oint
n
the
directionf heorizingsto ketchfew road istinctions.ocal
cleavages
ay
e
preexisting
rwar
nduced;
heymay
lign
eat-
ly
with entral
leavages
r subvert
hem;
nd
they
may
e con-
sistentver
ime r
more luid
nd
random.
With
preexisting
ocal
cleavages,
ar
ctivateshe
fault
ines.
When
prewar
ocal
cleavages
ave
lready
een
politicized
nd
grafted
nto henational
tructure
f
cleavages,
heir
utonomy
and
visibility
ua
local
cleavages
s
diminished;
ven
hen,
ow-
ever,
hemaster
leavage
may
not rase
hem.
o
understand
io-
lence,
nehas
o take nto ccount
ocal
leavages,
s
suggested
y
the
ollowing
escription
fEastTennessee
uring
heAmerican
CivilWar:
The
policy
f
ranting
xtensive
owers
o
native nionists
nd
mak-
ing
hem
artners
n he
ccupation
f ast ennessee
imedt
restor-
ing
loyal
overnment
s
quickly
s
possible.
ut hat
olicy,
om-
bined
ith
ncreasingly
arshederal
olicies,
arriederious
isks.
t
provided
urther
pportunities
or nionists
o ake
evenge
n
eces-
sionists,
nd
t
ncouraged,
atherhan
onstrained,
artisan
iolence
and isorder.
nionists
ad heirwn
genda,
n
genda
hat idnot
always
esh
ith ederal
ims,
nd his ifference
requently
reated
complications
or heUnion
ommand.62
In
themost xtreme
ases,
ocal
leavages
ay
ose ll
autonomy
and turn
ntomere
ocal manifestations
f the
entral
leavage.
Conversely,
central
leavage
ay
ranch ut
nto ocal
leavages
that emain ctive ven fterhe entral
leavage
as died.This
seems o
havebeen
he ase
n
Colombia,
where
he
deological
cleavage
f
Liberalsnd
Conservatives
pawned
esidential
egre-
gation
nd
ntermarriage
atterns.63
Often,
ocal
cleavages
re
preexisting
ithout
eing
grafted
ontothe
master
leavage-which
ncreasesheir
isibility.
hus,
the
conflict
between
Royalists
nd
Parliamentarians
n
Leicestershire
uring
he
English
ivilWarwasalsoa conflict
between
he
Hastings
nd
the
Grey
amilieshat went ack
o
personal
euds
f
far
onger
tanding
han heCivil
War,
n fact o
their
ivalry
or he ontrolf he
ountry
ince
hemid-sixteenth
century.
or
these
wo
families,
heRebellion
as,
t one
evel,
simply
further
tage
n
the
ong
drawn-out attle
or ocal
dominion.""64he
Protestant-Catholiciolence
hat
rupted
n
southeasternrance
uring
he
rench evolution
asnot
imply
religious;
t
pitted gainst
ach other
articular
amilies
ith
track ecord
f
past euding:
he anteiris
gainst
he
abastine
n
Chamborigaud,
heBossier
gainst
he
Roux
n
Vauvert,
nd
the
Roussel
gainst
heDevaulxn
Bagnols.65
ikewise,
family
nd
faction ictatedhecourse f the RA split n units ll over
Ireland"
uring
he ivilwar. Once
again,
t
was
theBrennans
against
he Barretts
n
Clare,
the
Hanniganitesgainst
he
Manahanitesn
east
Limerick,
nd
the
Sweeneys
ersus he
O'Donnells
n
Donegal
s all the
ld
feuds ere
reignited.""66
he
Liberal-Conservativelash
n
Colombia
frequently
rew
ut of
long-standing
amily
euds. iberal
rregos,
or
nstance,
oined
Franco,
hile heir
ong-time
nemies,
heCossios nd
Montoya
Montoyas
rom
aicedo,
made
up
theranks fthe
police
nd
Conservative
ontrachusma
bands]
in
nearbytowns.,"67
Journalists
ften ncounter
imilar
atterns:
he
warbetweenhe
pro-Iraqi
urd
ash
militia
nd Kurdish
ebels
as lso conflict
betweenhe ourchi ndtheBarzani amilies;68n the ther ide
of
he
order,
neastern
urkey,
he
war
etween
thnic urds
nd
the
Turkish
tate
n
the
village
f
Ugrak
was also between he
Guclu
ndthe
anguner
ndTekin
amilies,
oth
Kurdish.69
War
may
enerate
ew ocal
leavages
ecause
ower
hifts
t
the
ocal evel
upset
elicate
rrangements.
fter
hining
ath
rebels
ppointed
ew
illage
eaders,
the
uerrilla
olumn
ould
leave,
without
ealizing
hat
t
had
eft ehind
hornet's
est f
contradictions
hat
ould
not
be
resolved.
ven
f
n
these
ases
no overt
ebellion
ook
lace,
he
mposition
f
henew uthori-
ties
enerated
nitial esentments
nd
he irst
easant
llies
f he
armed
orces,
informers'
soplones)
n
the enderista
erminolo-
gy.70n the entral eruvianalleyfCanipaco,hepopulation
enjoyed
"kind
f
honeymoon"
ith
hining
ath
ntil
dispute
erupted
etween
wo
ommunitiesver he
distribution
f ands
previously
surped y
haciendas:
The
participation
f rmed
hining
ath adres
nthe ide f
ne f
the
ommunities
n massiveonfrontation
gainst
confederation
of ivalommunities
rovokedrupture
ith
he
atter,
ho
ecided
to
urn ver wo
enderistaadres
hey
ad
aptured
n he cuffle
o
the
uthorities
n
Huancayo.
his ction
rovoked
hining
ath
reprisals,
hichulminated
n
he
xecution
f hirteen
easant
ead-
ers. hevictims
ere
idnapped
romheir
ommunitiesnd
ssassi-
nated n the entral
laza
of
Chongos
lto.71
One ofthemost
otent leavagesroduced
ycivilwars sgen-
erational:ebels
but
lso
ncumbents)
ften ecruit
oung
eople
480
September
003
I
Vol.
1/No.
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8/21
who then
roceed
o
repress
heir
illage's
lders. he war
may
also ower
he
ostof
opportunistic
ehavior,
riggering
ens
f
local
leavages.
When ocal
cleavages
ubvertentral
nes,
factional
onflicts
emerge
within
upposedly
nified
olitical amps. McCoy
describes ow two factionsn Western isayas, hilippines,
became
plit
ather
venly
etweenheresistancend
collabora-
tion
regimes uring
he
Japaneseccupation.
owever,
uring
the
war,
membersf
the ame
political
actionn
opposite
ides
cooperatedlosely
ith
ach
other,
hile
members
f
opposite
factions,
ithin he
resistance
nd
the
Japanese-sponsored
ov-
ernment,
espectively,
ought
itterly
gainst
ach other.72
Similarly,
arlosRafael
Cabarrtis
hows
hat n some
f
he
ural
communities
e
tudiedn El
Salvador,
in-based
onflictsaused
important
ivisions ithin
olitical
actions.73
An
exclusive ocus n
cleavages
both
ocal
and
nonlocal)
would ail
o ccount or
ariationn evels
f
victimization.ocal
cleavages ay ecompatibleothwithnescalationfviolence,
as
competing
actions
ry
o
gain
dvantage,
nd
with
modera-
tion,
s
they
ave
hemeans
o strike
ocal
deals,
may
nticipate
future
ooperation,
nd
can
resorto
effective
n-group
olicing
in
order
o
prevent
ecentralized
scalation.74
ccounting
or
io-
lence
equires
hat ocal
dynamics
e
embedded
n an
analysis
f
war
dynamics,
specially
he
ogic
f
erritorial
control.75
In
sum,
xamining
ocal
leavages
pens
p
fascinating
mpir-
ical
possibilities
or
exploring
he
various
aths,
rajectories,
modalities,
nd
combinationsf central
nd
ocal
cleavages,
s
well stheir
onsequences.
esearch
n
clientelism,76
etworks,77
and ocal
factionalism78
onstitutes
n
obvious
esource
n
this
respect.
Theoretical
mplications
It
may
e
possible
o
overlook
ynamics
t themicro
evel
f
he
goal
s to
attain
historical
nterpretation
f the
onflict
t
the
macroevel
nd
the
ongue
urde.
he
fact hatmuch
iolence
n
Missouri
uring
he
American
ivilWar
was
related
o
ocal
on-
flicts
ather
han he
ssue
f
lavery79
ndercutshe
broad
ines
of
standard
macro-level
nterpretations
f the
American
ivil
War
nly
n
part-while
lso
ausing
loss f
descriptive
ccura-
cy.
However,
nalysis
f
he
dynamics
f
ivil
war
how
nd
why
people oin
or
defect,
ow
violence
akes
place,
et
cetera)
s
impossible
n the
bsence f
close
ttention
o local
dynamics.
Such
ttentions
also
necessary
or
chieving
closer
it etween
macro-
nd micro-level
heory"8
nd
nterpreting
ross-national
findings
bout
key
ariables,
uch s the
nset,
uration,
nd ter-
minationfcivil
wars. or
nstance,
ne
of
themost
obust
re-
dictors
f ivil
war
nset,
er
apita
ross
omestic
roduct,
ay
capture
n
part
he ffectf
ocal
leavages;81
oor,
onmodern-
ized
states ave
failed o
penetrate
heir
eriphery
ffectively,
which
wouldhave
reduced
he alience
f ocal
cleavages82
nd
thus
reated
pportunities
or
ebels o
tap
nto
hem.
Several
heoretical
mplications
ollow
rom
n
understanding
of
ivil
wars
nformed
y
he
ynamics
f
ocal
leavages.dentity
labels
hould e
handled ith
aution:
ctorsn civil
war
annot
betreateds f hey ere nitary.abels oined t the entermay
be
misleading
hen
generalized
own o
the
ocal
evel;hence,
motivations
annot
e derived rom dentities
t the
top.
The
interchangeability
f individuals
hatunderlies
he
concept
f
group
onflict
ndviolences variable
atherhan onstant.
he
locus
f
agency
s as
likely
o be
at thebottoms at the
op,
o
civiliansannot
e treated
s
passive,
manipulated,
r
invisible
actors;ndeed,heyftenmanipulateentralctorso settleheir
own
onflicts.
The
analytical
rimacyresently
njoyed
y
master
leavages
implies
hat
ocal
dynamics
re
perceived
s
a mere
and
rather
irrelevant)
ocalmanifestation
f he entral
leavage-automatic
and
unproblematic
ftereffects
f ctions nddecisions
ocated
t
higher
evels.
n this
erspective,
ocal ctors an
only
e
replicas
of entral
ctors,
nd
their
tudy
s
ustified
olely
n
grounds
f
local
history
r
antiquarian
nterest.
t follows
hat t s
unprob-
lematic o
generalizeirectly
rom he enter
o the ocal
evel;
n
other
words,
ctors
e.g.,
Serbs)
re
unitary,
nd motives
e.g.,
ethnic
omination)
oldfor ll ndividual
embers
nd
ctions,
including iolence. hus,we speakof actors uch as Shias,
Albanians,
r workers
ollowingescriptions
f civil
wars
long
the
modular"
hemes
f
religion,
thnicity,
r class. hese
abels
arenot
neutral;
hey
ypicallymply theory
fcausation.
ivil
wars
and
their
iolence)
re assumed
o be
directly
aused
by
religious,
thnic,
r class
leavages.
However,
he
disjunction
etween
entral
nd ocal
leavages
challenges
he
validity
f uch abels.
Although
aster
leavages
inform
nd motivateocal
dynamics
o a
varying egree,
he
observed
isjunction
etween he
two raises ritical
uestions
about he
dynamics
f civil
war nd tsviolence.
ikewise,
he
pronounced
endency
o infer
motivations
irectly
rom
denti-
ties t the enters undermined.iolence n an ethnic rclass
war
may
otbe ethnicrclass iolence.
or
nstance,
toll
hows
how
the firstxil
ndianswho
collaborated ith
he
rebels
n
Guatemala
were ot
mpoverished
easonal
lantation
aborers,
as
[rebel]
trategists
eem
o have
expected.
nstead,
hey
were
prominent
en from an
Juan
Cotzal,
relatively
ell-situated
merchants
nd abor
ontractors,
howished o enlist
he
guer-
rillasn
the itter
olitical
euds f
heir
own."
onversely,
heir
localenemies
whohad
disgraced
hemselvesn
office
nd
were
being
efeated
n
electionsould
now
denounce
heir
pponents
to the
rmy."83
The
concept
f
group
onflict
r
group
iolence
and,
hence,
ethniconflictnd ethnic iolence,ndso on) entailshe otal
interchangeability
f
ndividuals,
ither s
participants
nd
per-
petrators
r s
targets.
Group
onflict" akes
ense
nly
f
roup
membersre
fully
ubstitutableor ach
ther.84
f
argets
fvio-
lence re
selected
long
ines
hat
o beyond
roup
ttributes,
then he
violence annot e
describeds
simply
thnic,
lass-
based,
t
cetera. ne
indicationhat
his
may
e
the ase
s the
highly
ntimate
ature f
nteraction,
articularly
s
expressed
n
violence:
The
East
yrone
rigade
of
he
RA]
were ot
n
rmy
ut
band,
a
company
f
latter-day
oodkernes,
f
ordinary
armworkers,
mechanics,
ractor
rivers,
he
nemployed,
he
dd
chool-teacher,
inheritorsf he
ispossession,ho atheredogetherokill articu-
lar
knownnemies
ike
Edward
ibson,
homas
Jameson
nd
Harry
Henry.
he IRA
were ot
waging
warbut
sporadic
ssassination
www.apsanet.org
81
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Articles
I
The
Ontology
f Political
iolence"
campaign
n the
iny
ural ommunitiesf
Tyrone
o
attack he
enemy
n
heir
idst
emphasisine].85
Though
lass nformed
olitics
n
revolutionary
merica,
heres
a consensus
mong
istorians
hat lass
ensionsannot
xplain
the extensiveariationsn levelsof internecineiolence n
Virginia
ndtheCarolinas.86he
same
ppears
o have een
rue
in
Nicaragua:
There
were
poor
peasants
who
ran
to tell the
Guardwhen
hey
aw he
andinistas,
nd
here ere
membersf
wealthy
rban
amilies
ho desertedhe
guerrillas
nd told he
authorities
verything
hey
new
bout
heir
ormer
omrades."87
In some areas
of
predominantly
roatian
ural
Herzegovina,
much violence
uring
he
1990s
was an
outgrowth
f local
vendettas.88
he violence etween he
neighboringillages
f
Coagh
nd
Ardboe,
n Northern
reland,
hich ost he ives f
30
men
n
the
pace
of three
ears
n the ate
1980s
nd
early
1990s
for
combined
opulation
f
ust
over thousand
eo-
ple),
was not
simply
violence
between he Catholic rish
Republican
rmy
nd
the
Protestant
lster olunteer
orce,
ut
also a "bitter endetta"nd
the freshest
ycle
f a
blood feud"
that
pitted
hese
articular
wo
villages
gainst
ach
other.
n
other
words,
he nature
f theviolence
n
this rea cannot e
understood
y
simple
reference
o the
religious
leavage
n
Northernreland ut
equires
nowledge
bout
he ocal
leavage
between
oagh
nd
Ardboe.89
Likewise or
ndividuals.
ften,
hemaster
leavage
stablishes
a
baseline hat
etermines
hat
he elevant
roups
re.
However,
the
ssumption
f
noninterchangeability
f ndividuals
s
violated
with he ntroduction
f
secondary
electionriterionased
n
individual
haracteristics
nrelated
o
group
dentity.
otives
vary,
ut
grudge
nd oot
ppear
o
prevail.ntergroup
ictimiza-
tion
purred
y
ooting mong
eighbors
s common.90
ecause
the class
cleavage
defined
he
relevant
roup
dentities
n
Republican
arcelona
uring
he
Spanish
ivil
War,
oncierges,
maids,
nd
other omestic
ersonnel
n
well-to-do
eighbor-
hoods ould
ictimizehe
upper-
nd middle-classamiliesesid-
ing
n the
buildings
here
hey
worked.91
et,
s a residentf
Barcelonaold
me,
oncierges
ften
andpicked
heirndividual
victims ased
n
their wn
grudges
hat
went
eyond
lass.
Individualized
election
ay
ake
lace
ven nder
he
xtreme
circumstances
f
thnic
leansing
nd
genocide.
former
risoner
of the notorious
marska
amp
n Bosnia
describes
iolence
inflictedy erb uardsnMuslimnmates.neday, Serb uard
came
n at
night
nd nsulted
prisoner
ho,
s a
udge,
adfined
him or
traffic
ffensen the ate1970s
n another
nstance,
Sakib
ervanic,
thirty-two-year-old
rom
y
illage,disappeared"
becausef n
old
grudgegainst
isfather.
akib's
ather,
ustafa,
hadhadbusiness
ealswith adeGruban-but
ver he
yearshey
had ailedo
ettleome usinessebts. ade wned
couple
f mall
grocery
hops
lso
elling
ome
ppliances.
neof he
hops
as n
my
illage.
hebusiness
as
oing
ell ndhedecided
o
expand
t
through
ulk
ales f
ement,
ut
he did
not
have he
necessary
tor-
age
pace.
Mustafaet
im
se
part
fhis asement
or his
urpose,
but
they
ould
not
agree
n the mount
f the rent.As a
result,
Mustafa efusedo
pay
Radefor ome
ppliances
e
had
purchased
n
credit. adenowwanted
evenge-but
Mustafa as n the
rnopolje
camp.
t
saved
im,
utnot
his
on.92
Afterhe
Kosovowar
nded,
journalist
eported
hat
Captain
Kevin
Lambert old
me
of an
Albanianwomanwho
accused
Serb f
kidnapping
er
uring
hewar.
aptain
ambert's
roops
arrestedhe
man,
ut
upon
nvestigating,
hey
iscovered
hat
he
woman's
amily
ad been
rying
o coerce imto sell them
is
apartment.
asthis caseof
falsely
ccusing
he erb o
get
his
home?
With
no
proof,
he
U.S.
Army
ecided
t
was."93
an
Gross's
bservationbout
the
violence hat
rupted
n
western
Poland
during
he
Soviet
occupation
f
1939
captures
his
private-grudge
spect articularly
ell:
Yet,
much
s
the
iolence
epresented
n
explosion
f
ombinedth-
nic,
eligious,
ndnationalist
onflict,
am
neverthelesstruck
y
ts
intimacy.
ore
ften
han
ot,
ictimsnd
xecutionersnew
ach
other
ersonally.
ven ftereveral
ears,
urvivors
ould till ame
names.
efinitively,
eople
ook his
pportunity
o
get
ven or
er-
sonal
njuries
f he
ast emphasis
ine].94
Becausef he revailingmphasisn the op tthe xpensef
the
bottom,
here
s a
pronounced
endency
o
ocate he
gency
of
violencenthe
ormer;
ence he
ropensity
o
portray
he io-
lence f civilwars s
being
xternally
mposed
n
unsuspecting
and, therefore,
nnocent
ivilians.95
n
this
view,
ivilians
re
objects
ather
han
ubjects
f he iolence. uatemalan
easants
tend o
describe
he ivilwar
s
"something
ural ommunities
were
aught
n
but
not
f
heir
making."'9
eferring
o the
xpe-
rience f Greek
illage uring
reece's
ivil
war,
n
anthropol-
ogist oints
ut:"The
villagers
ere,
s
always,
hevictims
f
struggles
f
others
atherhan he ctive lement fthe
truggle
itself."'7
his
perspective
s
succinctlyxpressed
n
various
ayings
abouttheproverbialnts aught etweenightinglephantsr
buffalo.
ndeed,
much f
the
contemporary
uman-rights
is-
course ntails his
ssumption,
hich
s also
echoed
n instru-
mentalist
heoriesf thnic
onflict,
herendividuals
re
manip-
ulated
ypoliticians
n
pursuit
f
political
ower.
When
not een
as
victims,
ndividuals
imply
anish.
hey
re
aggregated
nto
groups
"the
Serbs,"
the
people")
whose
actions
re
other-
directed.he
term
uppet,
sed
o
describe
he
ollaborator
rmy
during
he
Japaneseccupation
f
China nd
similar
ituations
elsewhere,98
ndicates
he
prevalence
f n
"instigator"
heory
f
violent onflict.
his
theory
s
not
necessarily
naccurate,
spe-
cially
when hefocus
s
ust
on thevisible
ortion
f
violence;
however,tunderplaysrdownrightenies hat herere also
"instigatees,"
hose
participation
s
essential
o
transform
ni-
mosity
nto
iolence.99
Many
etailed
escriptions
f
violence
uggest
he
presence
f
considerable
ocal
nput
nd nitiativen the
production
fvio-
lence.Rather
han
being
mposed pon
communities
y
out-
siders,
his vidence
uggests,
iolence ften
but
not
always)
grows
rom ithin
ommunitiesvenwhen t
s executed
y
ut-
siders;
t
s,
n other
ords,
ften
ntimate.he
following
naly-
sis
by
Sinn
Fain
ouncilor
n
Coalisland,
orthern
reland,
ug-
gests
hat
he
religious"
leavage
n this
rea,
hough
ctivated
along
he
ines
f the
onflict's
aster
leavage,
verlapped
ith
a
(local)
conflict
etween wo ubsets f
people
n
Coagh
and
Coalisland-distinctfrom other local conflictsbetween
Protestant
nd Catholic
roups
cross
orthernreland:
482
September
003
1
Vol.1/No.
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10/21
The UDR
[Ulster
Defense
Regiment]
rom
Coagh
came
into
Coalisland,
which s a
ninety-nine
er
cent
nationalist
own,
nd
patrolled
round he own.
hey
would
top
choolchildrenn
their
way
o
chool,
et
hem oturn ut heirchool
ags,
r
top
ars.
..
They
would search nd read
anything,
etters,
rivate
ocuments
from our olicitor,ven f t wasobvious hat here as nosecurity
force onnection.he UDR
man
ouldread
very
ne of
hose
oc-
uments,
e
could ven
ount he
money
n
your
ocket,
ven
hough
he
was
our
ext-door
eighbour.
he
only
ualification
e
needed as
that ewas member
f
he
UDR.
It
ed o
great
ension...
It
made
people
eel ow
nd t
engendered
otal
ostility
owardshe
Loyalist
community
nd
gave
he
mpression
hat his s a Catholic
ersus
Protestant
ar.
But
thad
nothing
odo
with
eligion;
t was
he
imple
arming f
one ection
f
the
ommunitygainst
he ther
hiht
ou
deprive
hat ther
ection
f
ny
means
f efending
hemselves
empha-
sis
mine].100
Descriptions
f
police, rmy,
r
guerrillaweeps,
rrests,
r
assas-
sinations eveal hat
violence
n
civil
warsoften ntails
he
partic-
ipation
of
community
members,
who either ct as
suppliers
f
information r
(lessoften)
participate
n
moredirect
ways.
The
reliance f
political
ctorson local
informations
typically
on-
veyed
by
the
widespread
se of
blacklists,
s
suggested
y
the
fol-
lowingreport
rom
Colombia:
At east
ight
easants
ere illedn
thenorthern
illage
f
an
Roque
in
what he
police
aid
they
uspected
as
right-wing
aramilitary
attack.
unmen illed
ourmembersf
family
t a
gas
tation,
hen
stormednto he
homes f four arm
orkersnd
opened
ire
fter
checking
heirdentities
gainst
list
hey
arried,
he
olice
aid.
he
area s
also
frequent
tage
or eftist
ebel ttacks."'0
In his postwar rial,LieutenantGeneral Takeo Ito, a Japanese
commander n
Papua
New
Guinea,
told
the
judges
that
the
ists
for xecutions
were
compiled
n this
way.
nformation
ould be
given
o a
Japanese
oldier
y
a
native
hat ome
person
was
a
spy
and
had contacted
Australian
oldiers."102
When
Federal
forces
invaded entral
rkansas n
1863,
a
delegation
f
Unionists rom
Pine
Bluff
went
o
meet hem
nd escort
hem o
their own.
On
arriving
n
Pine
Bluff,
he
troops roceeded
o
ransack he
homes
of
Rebel
sympathizers;
s one
resident
oted,
"They
knew
every
ones
name
& where
they
ived."'03
After
he
Whites
captured
city
uring
he
Russian
Civil
War,
itwas
enough
for
omeone o
point
a
finger"
or
person
to
die.'04
The list of
victims n
the
Colombian townofBuriticai as routinelyubmitted n advance
to the
parishpriest
or
pproval.'05
fter e
was
denounced
and
arrested,
uring
he
Biafran ivil
War,
man
recalled: I
should
notreturn
o
Uyo,
for
my
people
were fter
my
blood."'06
Almost
every
ase of
apparently
ndiscriminate
iolence n
Guatemala
described n
detail
by
Robert Carmack
and his
associates
urns
out to
have entailed
ome
measure f ocal
nput:
name ists
sed
in
army
massacres
were
composed
with
nformation rom
ocal
people,
"orders o kill .
.
had a local
origin,"
nd
people
were
killed fter
he
nterventionf
old
enemies.107
ocal
Serbs
partic-
ipated
n
the
massacre f
about40
ethnicAlbanians n
the
village
of
Slovinje
n
Kosovo
April
15
and
16,
1999);
according
o a wit-
ness,
"When
the
army
ame,
our own
Serbs
put
on
masks nd
joined
in the
butchery. hey
knewwho
to
single
ut.
They
knew
who
had
money."'08
A
Basque peasant
woman,
whose
family
suffered
t the hands of the nationalists
uring
he
Spanish
Civil
War,
summarizes
t best:"It wasn't
Francowho harmed
us,
but
people
from ere-the
village."'09
Local
participation
s
compatible
with all sorts
of
motives,
ranging
from he
most
ideological
to the most
opportunistic.
Evidence
uggests
hat
key
motive s
settling
rivate
cores nre-
lated to the war'smaster
leavage.
Many
acts of violence hat
on
the surface
and
to
outsiders)
ppear
to be
generated
y
exclu-
sively olitical
motivations
ften urn
ut,
on closer
xamination,
to be "causednot
by
politics
but
by
personal
hatreds, endettas,
and
envy.""' Thucydides
rgues
hat
personally
motivated
rime
masked
by
political
retext
s one of the essential
eatures
f
civil
war,"'
while Machiavelli
describes
situationwhere
politically
motivated iots ffer
pretext
or
private
iolence."112
ocqueville
makes
similar bservation
henhe
argues
hat
private
nterest,
which
always
plays
the
greatest art
n
political
passions,
s
...
skillfully
oncealed
beneath he veil
of
public
nterest."13
In
her
study fGuatemala,KayWarren inds "deepermessage" idden
in the local and
private
nderpinnings
f a murder hat
seems
political
nd
impersonal."4
he
anthropologist
ho asserts
hat
Greek
villagers
were
"always
he victims f
struggles
f
others
rather han
the active lement
f the
struggle
tself"
ists,
few
pages
ater nher
book,
a host of
private
motives ehind
the
vio-
lence
of the Greek Civil
War;
for
example,
one
man
oined
the
Communists
with he
xpress
ntention
f
killing
rival
nheritor
ofhis
father's."115
The stories f
Aristogiton
nd
Harmodius on the
one
hand,
and PavlikMorozov
on the
other,
re
particularly
uggestive
n
this
respect. Thucydides
tells the
story
of
Aristogiton
nd
Harmodius,twoAthenians elebrated orhavingkilledthedic-
tator
Hipparchus:
"In
fact the bold
action undertaken
by
Aristogiton
nd Harmodius was
due to a love
affair. shall
deal
withthis n some
detail,
nd show
that
Athenians
hemselves
re
no
better
han other
people
at
producing
ccurate
nformation
about their wn dictators
nd the facts
f their wn
history."
t
turns
out that
Hipparchus,
without
success,
approached
Harmodius,
"a most beautiful
young
man in
the flower
f
his
youth
[who]
was loved and
possessed
by
Aristogiton."
Harmodius
rebuked
Hipparchus's
dvances nd told
Aristogiton,
"who,
being
n love as he
was,
was
greatly pset
and was
afraid
that
Hipparchus,
with
all his
power,
might
ake
Harmodius
by
force.He thereforebeganat once,so far s he could in hisposi-
tion,
to
plot
to
overthrow
he
dictatorship."
ventually,
fter
complicated
sequence
of
events,
Harmodius and
Aristogiton
assassinated
ipparchus.
As
Thucydides
oncludes:
In
this
way
the
conspiracy
f
Harmodius and
Aristogiton
riginated
n
the
wounded
feeling
f a
lover.""'6
Pavlik
Morozov was
the
Soviet
boy
who informed
n his kulak father
nd
was killed
by
his
uncles in
revenge
n
September
1932.
Pavlikbecame
famous
when
theSoviet
regime romoted
him
as the
upstanding
oung
Pioneer
who,
n a
situation f
conflicting amily
nd state
oyal-
ties,
nobly put
the
nterests fthe statefirst.
he writer
Maxim
Gorky
cited Pavlik
Morozov as an
example
of
Soviet
heroism,
and for
decades Pavlik
was treated s the
patron
saint of
the
Pioneers
and
eulogized
in
public
monuments,
meetings,
nd
inspirational
hildren's
ooks.
Anticommunists, owever,
ited
www.apsanet.org
83
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11/21
Articles
j
The
Ontology
f
Political
iolence"
his case as indicativeof the moral
decay
of
totalitarianism,
whereby
deological
control
undermined
nd
destroyed
ven
family
onds. But
a careful
investigation
ncovered different
motivation ehind
Pavlik's
ction:his
father,
he chairman f the
local
rural
soviet,
had
abandoned
his wife and
children and
moved n with a
younger
woman from hesame
village.
Pavlik
eitherdenounced
his
father
ut of
personal
resentment
as
the
eldest
hild,
t
13
or
14,
he had to takecare of
his
family)
r was
prompted
by