Description
Book SynopsisUnder what circumstances are civil-war combatants more or less likely to commit ethnic violence? Nils Hägerdal examines the Lebanese civil war to offer a new theory that highlights the interplay of ethnicity and intelligence gathering.
Trade ReviewA must-read to fathom the dynamics of violence in the complex and multifaceted Lebanese civil war. In a rich and rigorous account, Hägerdal explains how local demographics and intelligence shaped incentives and opportunities for selective violence or ethnic cleansing. Using novel and granular data, he shows that wartime violence in Lebanon was not wanton, but rather followed a political cleansing logic. -- Laia Balcells, author of
Rivalry and Revenge: The Politics of Violence During Civil WarHägerdal has written an excellent book on the conditions that lead to indiscriminate ethnic violence during civil war. Using an impressive array of original statistical and qualitative information on Lebanon’s civil war, he convincingly argues that information asymmetries explain the variation in levels of violence. Where intelligence information is reliable, there is less violence, and when it is less reliable, there is more violence. -- Amaney A. Jamal, author of
Of Empires and Citizens: Pro-American Democracy or No Democracy at All?Ethnic violence—in particular mass displacement or ‘ethnic cleansing’—is both disturbing and puzzling. Hägerdal’s careful and innovative research in Lebanon offers important insights that help make sense of this vexing phenomenon. -- Stathis N. Kalyvas, author of
The Logic of Violence in Civil WarIn
Friend or Foe, Hägerdal offers a powerful theory of ethnic violence in non-separatist ethnic civil wars, which he tests with an impressive mix of fieldwork and original data on demographics, migration, and violence for over 1,400 rural villages and urban neighborhoods in Lebanon. -- Peter Krause, coeditor of
Rebel Power: Why National Movements Compete, Fight, and WinTable of ContentsAcknowledgments
Introduction
1. Ethnic Violence in Non-Separatist Wars
2. The Lebanese Civil War, 1975–1990
3. Demographics, Migration, and Violence
4. Lebanon’s Christian Militias
5. Palestinian, Muslim, and Left-Wing Armed Groups
Conclusion
Notes
References
Index
