This chapter lays out the first part of a theory of irregular war as the foundation on which to build a theory of civil war violence. I begin by discussing the relation between irregular war and geographical space and I derive key implications for the nature of sovereignty in civil war. I then turn to the thorny issue of popular support, where I distinguish between attitudinal support (preferences) and behavioral support (actions). I argue in favor of a framework that makes no assumptions about the underlying preferences of the vast majority of the population and only minimal assumptions about behavioral support, in which complex, ambiguous, and shifting behavior by the majority is assumed, along with strong commitment by a small minority. I conclude with a discussion of the institutional context within which interactions between political actors and civilians take place.

SOVEREIGNTY IN CIVIL WAR

Analytically, the distinct character of irregular war is marked by the lack of front lines. A veteran of the campaigns against the American Indians remarked that “the front is all around, and the rear is nowhere” (in Paludan 1981:40); this feature was captured by a rhyme sung by German soldiers stationed in the occupied Soviet Union:

However, rather than being nonexistent, the boundaries separating two (or more) sides in an irregular war are blurred and fluid.