Theories of Violent Conflict

Former Military Networks a Threat to Peace? The Demobilisation and Remobilization of Renamo in Central Mozambique

“…This is arguably a worthwhile analysis in terms of disarmament, but in relation to demobilisation and reintegration, not a very useful exercise. After all, Renamo's return to violent struggle is, as any violent conflict, a profoundly multi-layered and social process (Demmers 2012). The current low-intensity war reveals much about Mozambique's current postwar political landscape, the growing feelings exclusion of different strata of the population, the country's increasing resource wealth, mischievous electoral strategies, and elite struggles within Renamo, to name only a few possible relevant factors.…”

Rebel Governance and Legitimacy: Understanding the Impact of Rebel Legitimation on Civilian Compliance with the LTTE Rule

“…Contestation in civil war often centres around identity and the politics of 'inclusion and exclusion' (Demmers 2016). This regards the question of 'defining who belongs and who does not belong to the nation (state), who is indigenous and who is foreign' (Hagmann and Péclard 2010, p. 554).…”

Company-community conflict in Indonesia's industrial plantation sector

“…This framework relates conflict dynamics and levels of escalation to different strategies of intervention and conflict resolution strategies. Conflict escalation entails a breakdown of communication between the parties, loss of control over the situation and an increase in readiness to use violence as a legitimate course of action to resolve competing interests (Schweitzer 2001;Demmers 2012). Glasl (1999) identifies several 'points of no return', which take the conflict deeper into escalation and makes it more intractable.…”