The Empiricists' Insurgency

Eli Berman and Aila M. Matanock

No 21061, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: Research on insurgency has been invigorated this past decade by better data, improved methods, and the urgency of understanding active engagements in Iraq and Afghanistan. This empiricists’ insurgency reinforces a classic literature on the essential role of civilians while challenging older theories about how they affect conflict outcomes. It provides a general framework describing “irregular” insurgencies (where government capacity exceeds rebel capacity), which is analytically cohesive and empirically tested using subnational data from multiple conflicts. The new research provides guidance on intervention design, including governance improvement, development programs, and rules of engagement. The design of interventions matters: some key evidence comes from measuring the effects of misguided policies. The framework may enable better conceived and implemented interventions, including foreign engagements with and without troop deployment, depending on the type of insurgency and mindful of political limitations. We position these findings in the literature, and highlight directions for future research, including legal aspects of countering insurgency.

JEL-codes: F51 F52 H56 N76 N85 N87 O1 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015-04
Note: DEV PE
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (18)

Published as Eli Berman & Aila M. Matanock, 2015. "The Empiricists' Insurgency," Annual Review of Political Science, vol 18(1), pages 443-464.

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Working Paper: The Empiricists' Insurgency (2015)
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