TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2020//
TI  - Mutually assured distrust: ideology and commitment problems in civil wars
JO  - Journal of conflict resolution
A1  - Keels, Eric
A1  - Wiegand, Krista
SP  - 2022
EP  - 2048
VL  - 64
IS  - 10
N2  - Within the study of intrastate armed conflicts, many scholars rely on a bargaining model when explaining why some civil wars are intractable. Primarily, scholars posit that commitment problems represent a key barrier to settling conflicts through negotiations. Yet, some civil wars are more easily resolved than others. If commitment problems are a universal feature of civil wars, what explains why commitment problems are more salient in some conflicts as compared to others? We argue that ideological differences between combatants enhance commitment problems in civil wars. Assuming that ideology is used by combatants to generate support, concessions that violate the ideological goals of each side may alienate supporters. With extreme ideological polarization, concessions may be viewed as relative as opposed to absolute, making it difficult for either side to credibly commit to offer concessions. To test these claims, we quantitatively examine the duration and outcome of all intrastate conflicts from 1975 to 2011.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0022-0027
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0022002720928414
ID  - ref1
ER  -