POLSCI 160 Lecture 2: Polsci160 The Problem of Civil War
4 Nov 2016
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What is a civil war? fought within a country over the legitimacy of its government. Can be over: control of government; wars of secession. All sides use violence to advance their cause: control over territory; attacks on government officials and authority; lack of security for civilians. Define the concept of legitimacy (of a state). Explain why legitimacy is always an issue in civil war. consequences of struggle over legitimacy. Legitimacy is the degree to which institutions are accepted as binding, correct, and proper by actors. Actors believe they must comply with legitimate institutions. Counterinsurgency: protect the population and separate them from insurgents, provide public goods to increase legitimacy of the government. Give a reason for the difference in the duration of the two types of wars. Civil wars last longer on average than interstate wars; accumulation of long-running civil wars over time,
