Quagmire in Civil War

Rebuts the pervasive 'folk' notion that quagmire is intrinsic to a country or civil war. Shows that quagmire is made, not found.

Jonah Schulhofer-Wohl (Author)

9781108708265, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 9 January 2020

340 pages, 14 b/w illus. 7 maps 29 tables
22.8 x 15.3 x 1.7 cm, 0.56 kg

'… the book provides a rigorous understanding of the mechanisms of foreign-domestic entanglement in civil wars. The quantitative comparative analysis of 140 civil wars that follows the in-depth study of the Lebanese case convincingly points to the wide applicability of the theory. From this perspective, the book is a vital reference for scholars of civil wars and internationalisation of local conflicts, setting the stage for a new research agenda for the study of quagmire, its causes, duration, effects and implications for local belligerents, foreign powers and most crucially the civilian populations that are always at the receiving end of the nightmares of quagmires.' Marina Calculli, The International Spectator

Our understanding of civil war is shot through with the spectre of quagmire, a situation that traps belligerents, compounding and entrenching war's dangers. Despite the subject's importance, its causes are obscure. A pervasive 'folk' notion that quagmire is intrinsic to certain countries or wars has foreclosed inquiry, and scholarship has failed to identify quagmire as an object of study in its own right. Schulhofer-Wohl provides the first treatment of quagmire in civil war. In a rigorous but accessible analysis, he explains how quagmire can emerge from domestic-international interactions and strategic choices. To support the argument, Schulhofer-Wohl draws upon field research on Lebanon's sixteen-year civil war, structured comparisons with civil wars in Chad and Yemen, and rigorous statistical analyses of all civil wars worldwide fought between 1944 and 2006. The results make clear that the 'folk' notion misdiagnoses quagmire and demand that we revisit policies that rest upon it. Schulhofer-Wohl demonstrates that quagmire is made, not found.

1. Introduction
2. A theory of quagmire
3. The Lebanese civil war, 1975–1990: issues, actors, turning points, explanations
4. Mechanisms of quagmire in Lebanon
5. Civil wars worldwide, 1944–2006
6. Comparative evidence from Chad and Yemen
7. A field guide to quagmire.

Subject Areas: Civil defence [JWKW], International institutions [JPSN], Geopolitics [JPSL], International relations [JPS], Politics & government [JP]