The commander's dilemma : violence and restraint in wartime / Amelia Hoover Green.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hoover Green, Amelia, author.

Series:

Cornell scholarship online.

Cornell scholarship online

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Political violence--Psychological aspects.

Political violence.

Command of troops--Psychological aspects.

Command of troops.

Civilians in war--Violence against--El Salvador.

Civilians in war.

Control (Psychology).

Political violence--El Salvador--History--20th century.

Political socialization--El Salvador--History--20th century.

Political socialization.

Civilians in war--Violence against.

El Salvador--Politics and government--1979-1992.

El Salvador.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (1 online resource.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Ithaca ; London : Cornell University Press, 2018.

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

Why do some military and rebel groups commit many types of violence, creating an impression of senseless chaos, whereas others carefully control violence against civilians? A classic catch-22 faces the leaders of armed groups and provides the title for Amelia Hoover Green's book. Leaders need large groups of people willing to kill and maim-but to do so only under strict control. How can commanders control violence when fighters who are not under direct supervision experience extraordinary stress, fear, and anger? The Commander's Dilemma argues that discipline is not enough in wartime. Restraint occurs when fighters know why they are fighting and believe in the cause-that is, when commanders invest in political education.Drawing on extraordinary evidence about state and nonstate groups in El Salvador, and extending her argument to the Mano River wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone, Amelia Hoover Green shows that investments in political education can improve human rights outcomes even where rational incentives for restraint are weak-and that groups whose fighters lack a sense of purpose may engage in massive violence even where incentives for restraint are strong. Hoover Green concludes that high levels of violence against civilians should be considered a "default setting," not an aberration.

Contents:

Introduction : repertoires and restraint

The commander's dilemma

Setting the context : the history of El Salvador's civil war

Comparing state and FMLN institutions and ideologies

FMLN institutions and ideologies in depth

Repertoires of violence in the Salvadoran civil war, 1980-1992

The commander's dilemma beyond El Salvador.

Notes:

Based on the author's thesis (Ph.D.)--Yale University, 2011.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9781501726484

150172648X

OCLC:

1038025942