Author Description

Despite the view that civil war involves violent contests for power between armed combatants, people and groups routinely engage in civil action in the midst of war. Civil action is behavior characterized by a reluctance to engage in violence and a willingness to abide by a minimal level of respect in order to maximize engagement with others. Civil action often prevents or tamps down violence, although it can sometimes escalate violence as well. This volume explores the ways civil action has affected dynamics of violence in Syria, Peru, Kenya, Northern Ireland, Mexico, Bosnia, Afghanistan, Spa. Civil action and the dynamics of violence in conflicts / Deborah Avant, Marie E. Berry, Erica Chenoweth, Rachel Epstein, Cullen Hendrix, Oliver Kaplan, and Timothy Sisk -- Civil action in the Syrian conflict / Wendy Pearlman -- Staging peace: community organizations, theatrical performance, and violent conflict in Peru / Steven T. Zech -- Northern Kenya: civil and uncivil action under conditions of state fragility / Fletcher D. Cox -- The impact of civil action on levels of violence: comparing two communities during Northern Ireland's Troubles / Amy Grubb -- Doing business amid criminal violence: companies and civil action in Mexico / Sandra Ley and Magdalena Guzmán -- Civil action and the micro-dynamics of violence during the Bosnian war / Marie E. Berry -- Non-violent communal strategies in insurgencies: case study on Afghanistan / Christoph Zürcher -- Civil action against Eta terrorism in Basque Country / Javier Argomaniz -- The Colombian private sector in Colombia's transition to peace / Angelika Rettberg. Edited by Deborah Avant, Marie E. Berry, Erica Chenoweth, Rachel Epstein, Cullen Hendrix, Oliver Kaplan, and Timothy Sisk. Includes bibliographical references and index.