Militias, States and Violence against Civilians

Paul Lorenzo Johnson, independent researcher, USA, holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of California, Davis. His research interests include civil-military relations, grayzone warfare, and genocide prevention.William Wittels is Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs at Brown University's Graduate School. His research interests include political theory, conflict studies, and higher education. He holds a PhD in political science from Duke University.

'Militias invoke an earlier, pre-modern era before the ‘Weberian’ state regularized the delivery of security. But as this important and very welcome volume by leading scholars makes clear, these armed organizations outside the regular security structure are resilient, multitasking and evolving, and their sometimes genocidal violence and mistreatment of civilians is of our times too. The authors suggest conceptual refinements and new subtypes beyond the focus on progovernment militias. The chapters provide statistical analysis and detailed case evidence of the price paid by the civilians who have to live with these organizations. The study of militias and their dynamic and sometimes clandestine relationship with governments and other actors is challenging and valuable in itself. Yet it also opens a window on the wider issues of political violence, repression, conflict or, indeed, the viability of states.'Neil J. Mitchell, Emeritus Professor of International Relations, University College London, UK 'This edited volume investigates a range of important questions about militia relationships with the state and society, as well as the ways in which different groups can perpetrate or refrain from violent action against civilians. Its chapters interrogate these complex issues across cases and contexts, and I was particularly pleased to see engagement with the "civic virtue" side of militia and self-defense force behavior.' Steven T. Zech, Monash University, Australia'This book advances the study of militias and other armed groups conceptually and empirically. It challenges the dichotomous assumptions that catalogs armed groups as either virtuously responsible or viciously violent and shows how relations between these groups and other actors - political parties, communities, and other violent entrepreneurs - condition the behavior of armed groups. The individual chapters in the volume go far in demonstrating how the multiple methods can expand the horizon for study of this important phenomenon.'Ariel I. Ahram, Virginia Tech School of Public and International Affairs, USA'Militias have attracted increasing attention and with good reason: their activity is consequential but also puzzling in many ways. This volume is a decisive step forward in our understanding of this important phenomenon.'Stathis N. Kalyvas, All Souls College, Oxford, UK

• 1. Introduction 2. Pro-Regime Militias 3. Civilian Defense Forces and Violence against Civilians 4. State-Militia Relations and Repression 5. Science and Epistemology as Territory in Conflict: The U.S. Occupation and Violence against Academics in Iraq 6. Violence against Civilians and the Legitimacy of Community-based Armed Groups in Kenya and Haiti 7. The YPJ of Northeast Syria and the Socialization of Restraint towards Civilians: ‘Jin, Jiyan, Azadi’ 8. Conclusion - The Study of Militias and Violence: Where to Go from Here?