The study of civil wars and intrastate armed conflict transcends single academic disciplines. While political science and international relations are often seen as the natural “home” of civil war studies, various academic approaches (such as sociology, history, geography, anthropology, and others) also make valuable contributions. This chapter explores approaches to researching and studying civil war by looking at how different disciplines engage with organized violence, and some of the debates that exist within and across these disciplines. The key questions addressed in this chapter are: How do different disciplines explore the subject of civil war? What are the differences between them in terms of their epistemology and the foundations of reliable knowledge about civil war? How is civil war defined according to different approaches, and what is their scope of analysis? What are the key debates within and between disciplines in relation to civil war topics? Is an interdisciplinary approach to civil war studies – which combines different disciplinary approaches – possible?

The September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States further propelled the global focus on terrorism. Despite international efforts, the threat of terrorism remains throughout the world. In this chapter, the challenges in defining and analyzing terrorism are established by articulating the characteristics, structures, and motivations of groups that terrorize others. These definitions of terrorism, and the features of relevant groups, are then placed within the wider context of intrastate conflict. Key questions addressed include: Why does terrorism more frequently occur in war-torn countries? And how does its occurrence lower prospects for sustainable peace? This analysis is then used to inform modern counterterrorism methods, and how their evolution is critical for future international and national security along with peace mediation studies.

The subject of insurgency explores how and why armed groups confront the state, their political and ideological claims, their links to society – including the support they have and their recruitment practices – and their political and military tactics. Rebel governance explores the behavior of non-state armed insurgencies in the territories they control – or partially control – and their attempts to provide public services, gain the support of the population, recruit members, manage economic policy, and gain legitimacy. Counterinsurgency involves efforts by state actors – sometimes with international assistance – to challenge and defeat rebel groups by military and political means and reassert the authority of the state in areas where rebel groups have influence. This chapter explores the relationship between insurgency and civil war, and the main theories of why insurgencies emerge and grow, their endurance, and their impact. As a part of this, it considers the provision of “governance” by some rebel groups in the territories in which they have some control, the services they attempt to provide, and the objectives that motivate this on the part of rebel leaders. Based on this, the chapter then explores the lessons of “rebel governance” for counterinsurgency campaigns and for peacebuilding after conflict.

How are conflict costs quantified and studied? For many researchers, analyzing the wide-ranging and long-term impacts of intrastate conflicts presents a harrowing task, dealing with topics involving death, devastation, and deprivation. As this chapter argues, there is no perfect way to measure the impact of war. Conflict costs are closely linked to the human development of countries involved in a conflict, helping to better clarify their impact relative to more peaceful countries. Furthermore, there are indicators of a conflict’s devastation beyond casualty figures that research should consider. Here, examining the conflict’s impact on areas such as education, infrastructure, health, the standard of living and economy, along with crime and the environment is useful. With numerous debates tackling these issues, this chapter delves into the complicated discussions of how to study these events. It suggests that a broader expansion of intrastate models and use of indicator statistics helps provide a greater understanding of such deadly occurrences and ultimately highlights the need to end or ideally prevent their outbreak.

The aftermath of civil wars is a fraught experience that does not end once a peaceful resolution is established. The study of civil war termination is vital to shaping our understanding of what factors dictate prospects for long-term peace once armed conflicts conclude. In particular, the types of conflict termination – from peace agreements to ceasefires and outright victories – have a strong bearing upon whether sustainable peace will be established, or violence will recur. Chapter 9 explores the relationship between the nature of civil war termination and the prospects for durable peace. It considers the factors and data provided by, for example, the Uppsala Conflict Data Program on which termination processes succeed and why long-term peace might be evasive for some conflicts. These approaches offer a ripe area of contemporary research and debate when seeking to resolve ongoing conflicts.

Are civil conflicts driven by resource crises? Research suggests that the root of conflict, in part, is explained when analyzing how economic deprivation drives groups into turmoil. Resource ownership, especially when unevenly distributed, often leads to violence. Research remains divided, however, on which resources drive violence, and the precise mechanisms that are involved. While many scholars argue that inequality drives violence, there exist many other factors that can help to explain civil wars. Evidence in this chapter suggests that while oil dependence may trigger conflicts, the duration of conflict is heavily influenced by factors beyond resources alone. Contrarily, agricultural commodities lack significant ties to civil war onset or duration, challenging our understanding of deprivation on a country-specific basis. Conflict is inextricably tied to maintaining political order, which for resource-rich countries hinges on interacting factors that governance structures facilitate. Further analysis on these topics – like the greed, state capacity, and grievance frameworks – offers strong insights into why violence emerges, giving multiple avenues and case studies as evidence for explaining civil wars overall.

When reflecting on this book’s insights, a key question is highlighted: What is the prospect for effectively preventing and resolving armed intrastate conflicts globally? The threat of such conflict erupting remains a constant risk for policy-makers and researchers to investigate, and to prepare for constructive intervention. As discussed throughout this text, the challenges inherent to establishing effective peacekeeping policies and resolving intrastate conflict remain. Furthermore, this chapter addresses how areas of non-violent conflict, but high tension, threaten to escalate in the future. Is it possible to successfully intervene and to deescalate future intrastate violence? From the timing of intervention to international cooperation, the debates and critical lessons that we conclude with here will encourage thought-provoking discussions on formulating effective policies to prevent and end intrastate violence.