Combatants in African Conflicts : Professionals, Praetorians, Militias, Insurgents, and Mercenaries

This book focuses on the different types of combatants in conflicts in Africa, exploring the fine lines between what might be classified as a militia in one conflict, a rebel in another, or a terrorist in a third. Drawing on the work of Carl von Clausewitz, this book provides a conceptually stable and analytically sound new typology on combatants. Analyzing the relationships between state and society, and drawing on Clausewitz's Trinity of passion, chance, and reason, the book presents a set of five types of armed actors: Professionals, Praetorians, Militias, Insurgents and Mercenaries. Each type is developed through a close reading of foundational theoretical texts, reviews of contemporary studies, and an historical analysis of their unique characteristics. Unlike a reductionist binary perspective, this typology accounts for the dynamic, complex and evolving relationships of these actors with the state and society. A typology of combatants in conflicts in Africa can provide avenues for more in-depth analysis of such conflicts, and holds implications for Security Sector Reform projects and other peace-building programmes. As such, this book will be an essential reference for scholars and students of African Politics and Military and Security Studies--

Author: Simon David Taylor

Publisher: Routledge

Publication Date: May 27, 2024

Number of Pages: NA pages

Language: English

Binding: Paperback

ISBN-10: 1032219645

ISBN-13: 9781032219646