The DOI matches its Crossref record; 2 of the 2 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Why We Kill: The Political Science of Political Violence against Civilians
Abstract
This article reviews the political science literature on political violence against civilians, including genocide, mass killing, and terrorism. Early work on these subjects tended to portray this kind of violence as irrational, random, or the result of ancient hatreds between ethnic groups. Most scholars studying political violence today, however, understand it to be primarily, if not exclusively, instrumental and orchestrated by powerful actors seeking to achieve tangible political or military objectives. Scholars continue to disagree, however, about the specific motives that drive belligerents to target civilians or the conditions under which large-scale violence against civilians is most likely.
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“Most wartime violence targeting civilians is perpetrated by governments (Valentino 2014).”
From Dynamics and Logics of Civil War (2017) · cites this paper as Valentino 2014
Citations
Cites
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Self-citationHandling and Manhandling Civilians in Civil War
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Cited by
Dynamics and Logics of Civil War
Cederman, L.-E., & Vogt, M. (2017) · Journal of Conflict Resolution · doi:10.1177/0022002717721385 · Cited by 214
Metadata
- Authors
- Valentino, B. A.
- Affiliations
- Dartmouth College (US)
- Corresponding author
- Valentino, Benjamin A.
- Venue
- Annual Review of Political Science
- Publisher
- Annual Reviews
- Published
- 2014-05-11
- Volume
- 17
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 89-103
- ISSN
- 1094-2939 (ISSN-L)
- 1545-1577
- OpenAlex
- W2108078693
- Cited by
- 200
- References
- 2
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 18 · 2023: 17 · 2022: 32 · 2021: 24 · 2020: 23 · 2019: 31 · 2018: 15 · 2017: 9 · 2016: 6 · 2015: 7 · 2014: 1
- FWCI
- 2.53
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Annual Review of Political Science (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Political Conflict and Governance
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political Violence
- Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › International Relations and Foreign Policy
- Keywords
- genocide, mass murder, terrorism, instrumental violence, civilian targeting, ethnic hatred
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