CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2015
| Author | Köver, Martin Andreas |
|---|---|
| Title | Collusion between Enemies in Civil Wars: Why it Occurs and How it Contributes to Conflict Resolution |
| Summary | Why do warring parties in civil wars engage in collusion involving mutual dependence and intertwined structures with their enemies, if these cannot provide credible commitments that they will not defect? An analysis of factors affecting the occurrence of collusion suggests that credible threats of retaliation can substitute credible commitments, and previous experience with the elements of the collusive operation can help reduce costs of defection, thus reducing the risks of becoming mutually dependent with an enemy. An absence of research on the consequences of collusion prompts the second question in this thesis: Does a once initiated cooperative dynamic between enemies perpetuate itself, leading to an increased likelihood of conflict resolution attempts? A dataset on collusion and conflict resolution was created, and crosstab analyses conducted. Results show that collusion makes conflict resolution attempts more likely, though these results are not generalizable. The implications of the thesis are that further research into cooperative dynamics between enemies could improve the understanding of processes during civil wars, and that mediators in armed conflict could target their efforts towards parties and individuals previously engaged in collusion for improved success rates. |
| Supervisor | Sgier, Lea |
| Department | Political Science MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2015/koever_martin.pdf |
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