3. Foreign-Imposed Regime Change and Civil War

2021 ◽  
pp. 87-156
Keyword(s):  
Civil War ◽  
Regime Change

Delimiting Aristotle's Conception of Stasis in the Politics

Phronesis ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 54 (4-5) ◽  
pp. 346-370 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven Skultety
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Civil War ◽  
Regime Change ◽  
Political Competition ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Realm

AbstractSome scholars have claimed that Aristotle uses the word "stasis" to refer to any sort of conflict in the political realm, covering everything from civil-war to social rivalry. After developing an interpretation of Politics V.1-4, where Aristotle discusses the topic at length, I argue that he is in fact carefully delimiting the concept of stasis so that it applies only to civil-war and open sedition, showing how his analysis excludes partisan antipathy, legal disputes, and political competition. I conclude with some reflections on the significance of this position: by defining stasis narrowly, Aristotle not only offers a profound critique of Plato's theory of regime change, but adopts a position that allows his political philosophy to be relevant for modern theories requiring acceptance rather than rejection of conflict in the political realm.

Toward a Democratic Civil Peace? Democracy, Political Change, and Civil War, 1816–1992

2001 ◽  
Vol 95 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Håvard Hegre
Keyword(s):  
Domestic Violence ◽  
Civil War ◽  
Civil Wars ◽  
Regime Change ◽  
Political Change ◽  
Political Transition ◽  
End Point ◽  
Transition Experience ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Civil Violence

Coherent democracies and harshly authoritarian states have few civil wars, and intermediate regimes are the most conflict-prone. Domestic violence also seems to be associated with political change, whether toward greater democracy or greater autocracy. Is the greater violence of intermediate regimes equivalent to the finding that states in political transition experience more violence? If both level of democracy and political change are relevant, to what extent is civil violence related to each? Based on an analysis of the period 1816–1992, we conclude that intermediate regimes are most prone to civil war, even when they have had time to stabilize from a regime change. In the long run, since intermediate regimes are less stable than autocracies, which in turn are less stable than democracies, durable democracy is the most probable end-point of the democratization process. The democratic civil peace is not only more just than the autocratic peace but also more stable.

Modes of transition and the timing of separatist war onset: a comparative analysis of South Ossetia and Kosovo

2017 ◽  
Vol 45 (5) ◽  
pp. 928-949
Author(s):  
Loretta Dell'Aguzzo
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Civil War ◽  
Ethnic Minority ◽  
Regime Change ◽  
Political Stability ◽  
Political Agenda ◽  
Short Term ◽  
South Ossetia ◽  
Social Actors ◽  
The Military

This paper compares the escalation of civil war in South Ossetia and Kosovo and shows how different modes of transition deeply influenced the timing and type of conflict in these two cases. It argues that regimes resulting from a transition from above – when the elite in power leads the process of regime change and imposes its political agenda on other social actors – are more likely to ensure political stability in the short term, since governments are more cohesive internally, enjoy the support of the military, and can rely on a loyal bureaucracy. In contrast, regimes that emerge from transitions from below are more likely to experience civil war with an ethnic minority in the short term because of an intrinsic weakness of the elite in power. Under these circumstances, the newcomers need to win the loyalty of the military and of the bureaucracy, and separatist groups can take advantage of the incumbents’ weaknesses and try to build resources to militarily challenge the state.

No red lines: the question of western military intervention

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Phillips
Keyword(s):  
Civil War ◽  
Regime Change ◽  
Military Intervention ◽  
Late Summer ◽  
Military Action ◽  
Us Military ◽  
Syrian Civil War ◽  
The Us ◽  
Early Formative ◽  
Formative Years

This chapter analyses the question of western intervention and why no state deployed its military to bring about regime change in Syria. It explores why the Syria conflict attracted so little direct military intervention in its early, formative years, especially by the US. The ‘nonstrike’ of late summer 2013 was something of a watershed in the Syrian civil war. Until that point, some form of military intervention led by the US, modelled on the actions in Libya in 2011, seemed a realistic prospect to many of the key actors and impacted their behaviour. But afterwards, most recognised that US military action against Assad was unlikely. While Obama did eventually authorise direct military action in Syria in September 2014, it was against ISIS, not Assad.

23. Mexico

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Schedler
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Civil War ◽  
Organized Crime ◽  
Presidential Elections ◽  
Regime Change ◽  
Mexican Revolution ◽  
Transition To Democracy ◽  
Criminal Violence ◽  
Electoral Authoritarianism ◽  
History Of

This chapter examines Mexico’s gradual and largely peaceful transition to democracy, followed by a sudden descent into civil war. In the closing decades of the twentieth century, Mexico’s major challenge was political democratization. Today, it is organized criminal violence. Vicente Fox’s victory in the presidential elections of 2000 ended more than seventy years of hegemonic party rule. However, a civil war soon broke out, sparking a pandemic escalation of violence related to organized crime. The chapter first traces the history of Mexico from its independence in 1821 to the Mexican Revolution of 1910–1920 before discussing the foundations of electoral authoritarianism in the country. It then considers the structural bases of regime change in Mexico, along with the process of democratization by elections. It concludes by analysing why a civil war broke out in Mexico following its transition to democracy.

From Illiberal to Incorrigible: A New Strategy for Humanitarian Enforcement Action in Syria

2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 104-133
Author(s):  
Isobel Roele
Keyword(s):  
Civil War ◽  
Regime Change ◽  
Limit States ◽  
Disciplinary Power ◽  
Enforcement Action ◽  
Syrian Civil War ◽  
Un Security Council ◽  
New Strategy ◽  
The Russian Federation ◽  
Decisive Action

The Syrian civil war has caused heartbreaking human suffering. Proponents of decisive action to end this suffering have tended to frame their case in terms of liberal values such as democracy, human rights and the rule of law. In framing the humanitarian issue in this way, advocates of UN Security Council involvement have emphasized the illiberality of the ‘Assad regime’ in order to promote the acceptability of coercive enforcement action under Chapter VII of the UN Charter. I argue that this rationale is counterproductive as it guarantees that the Russian Federation will veto any proposal for Chapter VII measures. Russia favours an inclusive Syrian-led political solution to the Syrian civil war and fears that any invocation of Chapter VII will provide Western powers with carte blanche for regime change, effectively repeating – in Russia’s eyes – NATO’s action in Libya in 2011. This article offers an alternative way of framing arguments for humanitarian enforcement action that is intended to side-step Russia’s objections. This strategic re-framing replaces the logic of illiberality with the logic of incorrigibility. This strategy takes its inspiration from Michel Foucault’s work on disciplinary power, making an admittedly unorthodox use of Foucauldian analytics to do so. The incorrigibility strategy seeks to bypass Russian fears about regime change by adopting a threshold for Chapter VII action based on a measured phenomenon – the repeated failure by the parties to correct their behaviour in line with UNSC prescriptions. Apart from providing a threshold for enforcement action, the logic of incorrigibility also shapes the eventual Chapter VII measures taken because it focuses on correcting the parties’ behaviour and because it yields highly specified and relatively controllable mandates for coercive action which limit states’ interpretation of what is required of them to carry out the UNSC’s decisions.

Contemporary Arab Uprisings: Different Processes and Outcomes

2013 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 421-445 ◽  
Author(s):  
SEYED AMIR NIAKOOEE
Keyword(s):  
Civil War ◽  
Research Methodology ◽  
Regime Change ◽  
Arab World ◽  
Comparative Case Study ◽  
Case Study Approach ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Arab Uprisings ◽  
Political Outcomes

AbstractThus far, recent protests in the Arab world have led to different political outcomes including regime change, civil war, and suppression by regime. The present paper explores the reasons behind these different outcomes. The research methodology is a comparative case study approach, and five countries of Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain, Libya, and Syria are examined. The hypothesis is that the different political outcomes of the protests are due to a combination of factors, including the level of mobilization of anti-regime movements, the responses of national militaries, and finally the reaction of international powers. Different configurations of these components in the crisis-stricken countries have led to different political outcomes.

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