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Product Identifiers

PublisherCambridge University Press

ISBN-101107159806

ISBN-139781107159808

eBay Product ID (ePID)228829153

Product Key Features

Number of Pages376 Pages

Publication NameResisting War : How Communities Protect Themselves

LanguageEnglish

SubjectSociology / General, International Relations / General, Political Ideologies / General, Latin America / South America

Publication Year2017

TypeTextbook

Subject AreaPolitical Science, Social Science, History

AuthorOliver Kaplan

FormatHardcover

Dimensions

Item Height1.2 in

Item Weight25.8 Oz

Item Length9.3 in

Item Width6.2 in

Additional Product Features

Intended AudienceScholarly & Professional

LCCN2016-044944

ReviewsAdvance praise: 'In this path-breaking book Oliver Kaplan shows that in all the narratives about elites, rebels, guerillas, combatants etc. there was somebody missing: society. Patterns of peace and conflict, it turns out, depend on how society mobilizes, organizes, and negotiates. Combining theory, statistical analysis and extraordinary fieldwork in Colombia, Kaplan develops and tests a theory of just how society influences civil war.' James A. Robinson, University of Chicago and author of Why Nations Fail, Advance praise: 'The literature on building peace emphasizes the need to include and empower civil society as an antidote to violence and the lack of protection by the state. However, little is known about the conditions under which specific communities mobilize or what goes on under the surface of public protests. Kaplan's rich and colorful accounts of communities in Colombia and the vagaries they face show how they have confronted and appeased different violent actors. Kaplan's book should be required reading for anyone attempting to understand how communities are not only victims but also agents in violent contexts.' Angelika Rettberg, Director of the Master's in Peacebuilding program, Universidad de Los Andes, Colombia, Advance praise: 'We have thousands of books and articles on how armed men threaten unarmed civilians, but very few on the important and fascinating phenomenon of how the civilians protect themselves and fight back. This compelling book fills the gap and represents an important turn in the study of violence, from how it is committed to how it is mitigated.' Steven Pinker, Johnstone Professor of Psychology, Harvard University and author of The Better Angels of Our Nature, Advance praise: 'In the vast literature on civil wars, we have learned considerably about what motivates rebels to risk their lives to resist state power. In these accounts, civilians living in contested zones are typically portrayed as helpless victims adding only to the counts of collateral damage. Oliver Kaplan, in this brilliantly conceived study, challenges these dominant narratives and recasts peasants as anti-violence entrepreneurs. He discovers the conditions under which small rural communities can draw on their solidarity to avoid devastation from both rebels and the state, and avoid mass exodus to cities. Villagers can negotiate with both sides, Kaplan shows, to save their communities, preserving dignity and life while being protected from nearby death and destruction.' David D. Laitin, Stanford University

Dewey Edition23

IllustratedYes

Dewey Decimal303.6109861

Table Of Content1. Introduction: civilian autonomy in civil war; 2. A theory of civilian decision-making in civil war; 3. The history of conflict and local autonomy in Colombia; 4. Living to tell about it: research in conflict settings; 5. How civilian organizations affect civil war violence; 6. Why some communities are more organized than others; 7. The institution of the ATCC: protection through conciliation; 8. Discovering civilian autonomy in Cundinamarca; 9. Civilian autonomy around the world; 10. Conclusions and policy implications.

SynopsisBased on fieldwork and statistical analysis, this book explains how local social organization and cohesion enable both covert and overt nonviolent strategies, including avoidance, cultures of peace, protest, and negotiation. These 'autonomy' strategies help civilians retain their agency and avoid becoming helpless victims by limiting the inroads of armed groups., In civil conflicts around the world, unarmed civilians take enormous risks to protect themselves and confront heavily armed combatants. This is not just counterintuitive - it is extraordinary. In this book, Oliver Kaplan explores cases from Colombia, with extensions to Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, and the Philippines, to show how and why civilians influence armed actors and limit violence. Based on fieldwork and statistical analysis, the book explains how local social organization and cohesion enable both covert and overt nonviolent strategies, including avoidance, cultures of peace, dispute resolution, deception, protest, and negotiation. These 'autonomy' strategies help civilians retain their agency and avoid becoming helpless victims by limiting the inroads of armed groups.

LC Classification NumberHN303.5.K37 2017