Overview
First book so far to explain how socio-cultural codes shape violent mobilization
Offers novel perspectives for further research into the dimensions of asymmetric conflict
Includes interviews with former insurgents
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Table of contents (5 chapters)
Keywords
About this book
This book argues that the existing scholarship on asymmetric conflict has so far failed to take into account the role of socio-cultural disparities among belligerents. In order to remedy this deficiency, this study conceptualizes socio-cultural asymmetry under the term of asymmetry of values. It proposes that socio-cultural values which are based upon the codes of retaliation, silence, and hospitality – values which are intrinsic to honor cultures, yet absent from modern institutionalized cultures – may significantly affect violent mobilization and pro-insurgent support in that they facilitate recruitment into and support for insurgent groups, while denying such support to incumbent forces. Utilizing Russia's counterinsurgency campaigns in the First and Second Chechnya Wars as an empirical case study, this study explains how asymmetry of values can have an effect on the dynamics of contemporary irregular wars.
Reviews
“Souleimanov and Aliyev’s book is the first of its kind to offer a micro-level analysis on the role of socio-cultural values in insurgencies. This detailed presentation of the socio-cultural codes of retaliation, silence, and hospitality in Chechen Wars is a must read not only for researchers in area studies, but also for anyone interested in armed conflict dynamics and the socio-cultural aspects of insurgencies.” (Julie Wilhelmsen, Senior Research Fellow, Norwegian Institute of International Affairs)
Authors and Affiliations
About the authors
Emil Aslan Souleimanov is Associate Professor of International Area Studies at Charles University, Czech Republic. His recent work focuses on the micro-dynamics of violence and political ethnography with emphasis on Russia’s North Caucasus.
Huseyn Aliyev is a Post-Doctoral Researcher at the Center for Security Studies of Metropolitan University Prague. His current research interests are civil wars and extra-state armed groups, as well as informal politics and institutions.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: How Socio-Cultural Codes Shaped Violent Mobilization and Pro-Insurgent Support in the Chechen Wars
Authors: Emil Aslan Souleimanov, Huseyn Aliyev
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-52917-2
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham
eBook Packages: Political Science and International Studies, Political Science and International Studies (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2017
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-319-52916-5Published: 02 May 2017
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-319-85015-3Published: 21 July 2018
eBook ISBN: 978-3-319-52917-2Published: 21 April 2017
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: VIII, 79