Description
Multiparty civil wars are of crucial concern for academics and policy makers alike. The dynamic interaction between more than two conflict actors remains undertheorized, although the existence of multiple groups in a single war is a frequent phenomenon that influences conflict dynamics in fundamental ways. Using primary and secondary data on insurgent groups in Syria, Angola, Ethiopia, Myanmar, Iraq, and the Philippines, I develop a new theoretical approach to study cooperative and conflictive interactions between armed groups in multiparty civil wars, which go far beyond infighting and fragile military alliances. The paper develops this argument by starting from the most basic factors that influence dynamics between armed groups: First, where does cooperation take place? Second, for which purposes do groups cooperate? These two basic dimensions yield a conceptual typology of armed group relationships that distinguishes four ideal types. The four types emerge from three basic conditions: shared overarching conflict goals, ideological proximity, and shared local objectives. Based on different combinations of these conditions across groups and conflicts, I answer the crucial question of why relationships between armed groups look so different within civil wars but can be surprisingly similar across civil wars. Above all, I explain why some armed groups cooperate to an impressive degree and continue to do so despite sometimes very violent internal conflicts, while others barely get along.
