Bridging Micro and Macro Approaches on Civil Wars and Political Violence

Abstract

This article reflects on the importance of linking micro and macro levels of analysis in order to advance our current understanding of civil wars and political violence processes and discusses the contributions of the articles in this special issue. We first identify the main problems in research on political violence that is focused on a single level of analysis and describe the challenges faced by research that attempts to establish connections between different levels. We then introduce the different articles in the special issue, with an emphasis on the micro-macro-level linkages they develop and highlighting their commonalities. We conclude by emphasizing the importance of a new research agenda for the study of civil wars and political violence that bridges social, economic, and political dynamics occurring at the local level and conflict processes taking place in the macro arena.

The determinants of low-intensity intergroup violence

“…2 For example, in Ivory Coast, low-intensity violence persisting after peace agreements has been an important factor leading to the relapse into civil war (Reno, 2011). 3 The article makes an effort at generating macro-level implications of micro-level findings (Balcells & Justino, 2014). more than three centuries (Farrell, 2000).…”

The Long‐term Effects of Political Violence on Political Attitudes: Evidence from the Spanish Civil War

“…The consequences of political violence, particularly of civil wars, are topics that have attracted considerable interest in recent years (Blattman and Miguel ). According to the World Bank (), one in four people in the world, more than 1.5 billion, live in countries affected by fragility, conflict, and violence (Balcells and Justino ). Civil conflicts incur dramatic costs in terms of both human lives and well‐being, with the accompanying destruction of public infrastructure and physical capital (Welsch ; Gates et al ).…”

The Long-Term Effects of Political Violence on Political Attitudes: Evidence from the Spanish Civil War

“…The consequences of political violence, particularly of civil wars, are topics that have attracted considerable interest in recent years (Blattman and Miguel 2010). According to the World Bank (2011), one in four people in the world, more than 1.5 billion, live in countries affected by fragility, conflict, and violence (Balcells and Justino 2014). Civil conflicts incur dramatic costs in terms of both human lives and well-being, with the accompanying destruction of public infrastructure and physical capital (Welsch 2008;Gates et al 2012).…”