Civil conflict

This chapter explores the causes and consequences of violent civil conflict, including civil wars. We will review key findings and debates around important factors that influence (and are influenced by) the onset, duration, termination, and recurrence of civil conflict. These factors include socioeconomic conditions, ethnoreligious dimensions, regime characteristics, conflict management strategies, international influences, organizational aspects of rebellion, civilian victimization, natural resources, and climate change. The chapter concludes with a discussion of possible directions for future research on civil conflicts, from considering the other types of unrest that can co-occur with civil wars to continued examination of the repression-dissent nexus and improved accounting of non-lethal costs associated with these conflicts.