Description
Gambling with Violence tackles a global problem that is particularly consequential for Pakistan and India: state outsourcing of violence to ordinary civilians, criminals, and ex-insurgents. Drawing on over 200 interviews, archival research, and fieldwork conducted in Islamabad, Srinagar, New Delhi, Dhaka, Diyarbakir, Ankara, Moscow, London, and Washington, D.C., this book introduces the "balance-of-interests" thesis to deepen our understanding of state-nonstate alliances in civil war. Incorporating international case studies of previously underexplored conduct and little-known governmental alliances with criminals and ex-rebels, this book reveals configurations of local power and actors' interests that result in distinct alliance patterns and demonstrates the framework's applicability in South Asia and beyond.
Read More
In Gambling with Violence, Yelena Biberman tackles a global problem that is particularly consequential for Pakistan and India: state outsourcing of violence to ordinary civilians, criminals, and ex-insurgents. Why would these countries gamble with their own national security by outsourcing violence - arming nonstate actors inside their own borders? Drawing on over 200 interviews, archival research, and fieldwork conducted across Asia, Europe, and North America, Biberman introduces the "balance-of-interests" thesis to deepen our understanding of state-nonstate alliances in civil war. This framework centers on the distribution of power during war and shows how various combinations of interests result in distinct types of coalitions. Incorporating case studies of civil war and counterinsurgency, her book sheds light on how militias, alliances, and South Asian security connect today.
Read Less