Divided Not Conquered: How Rebels Fracture and Splinters Behave

Armed groups are highly unstable, with intense disagreements causing them to break apart. Evan Perkoski's book "Divided Not Conquered" analyzes how these groups fracture and how breakaway splinter groups behave. He draws on research from organizational studies to social psychology to show how these disputes uniquely shape the behavior and survivability of emerging splinters. Case studies of republican militants in Northern Ireland, Basque militants in Spain, and the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq are included.

Format: Hardback
Length: 304 pages
Publication date: 03 October 2022
Publisher: Oxford University Press Inc

Terrorist, rebel, and insurgent groups are incredibly unstable, often torn apart by intense disagreements and fears of defeat. From Syria to Iraq, Ireland to Spain, these organizations have experienced divisions that have led to their decline or the formation of notorious and deadly organizations. In his book "Divided Not Conquered," Evan Perkoski explores how armed groups fracture and how breakaway splinter groups behave.

Perkoski takes an unprecedented look inside these organizations to understand the specific disagreements that cause groups to break apart, such as ideology, leadership, and strategy. Drawing on research from organizational studies, social psychology, and analogies from business firms to religious sects, Perkoski demonstrates how these disputes uniquely shape the behavior and survivability of emerging splinters.

When motivated by single, shared disagreements, splinters exhibit higher cohesion, clearer objectives, and greater survivability. On the other hand, when motivated by strategy, splinters attract hardline operatives who steer the group towards increasingly lethal tactics and strategies.

Through case studies of republican militants in Northern Ireland, Basque militants in Spain, and the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, "Divided Not Conquered" demystifies a complex yet common phenomenon with ramifications for counterinsurgency, counterterrorism, and our understanding of increasingly fragmented conflicts around the globe.

Weight: 604g
Dimension: 159 x 242 x 24 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780197627068