Nonstate actors, fragmentation, and conflict processes

The document argues that treating nonstate actors as unitary entities in civil conflict analysis creates a gap between conceptual frames and empirical reality. It proposes a 'disaggregation' approach to examine how internal divisions, factionalism, and shifting coalitions influence the initiation, escalation, and termination of violence. The authors highlight that fragmentation can either increase violence through in-group competition or facilitate peace through state co-optation of specific factions. The text calls for more disaggregated data to better understand the dynamics of nonstate actors, including the role of external state intervention in precipitating or exacerbating internal splits.

• Traditional bargaining frameworks for analyzing conflict often rely on the 'unitary actor' assumption, which the authors argue fails to capture the 'messy empirical record' of nonstate groups that are frequently divided by internal struggles.
• State repression does not uniformly unify or divide nationalist movements; instead, its effect depends on whether members are satisfied with the existing institutional distribution of power. Repression can unify a satisfied group but provide an opportunity for dissatisfied members to act on their opposition, leaving the movement more divided.
• In self-determination struggles, the emergence of new actors increases competition within the group, which creates incentives for factions to use violence against both the state and other members of their own ethnic group.
• Fragmentation can facilitate the end of civil wars through 'fratricidal flipping' or strategic co-optation, where state regimes selectively incorporate rebel field commanders or local elites who defect due to internal rivalries.
• The political structure of an organization, specifically the presence of a factionalized leadership, is a key driver of organizational schisms in Middle Eastern ethno-political organizations.
• External intervention by third-party states can interact with internal fragmentation in two ways: it can be invited by existing rivalries between factions, or the intervention itself can provide resources that exacerbate conflict among warlords.

APA

Pearlman, W., & Cunningham, K. G. (n.d.). Nonstate actors, fragmentation, and conflict processes. Peace Research Institute Oslo. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/c72718aa-6f40-4088-9dbf-a66f109d538e/Nonstate Actors Fragmentation and Conflict Processes.pdf?inline=true

Chicago

Pearlman, Wendy, and Kathleen Gallagher Cunningham. Nonstate actors, fragmentation, and conflict processes. Peace Research Institute Oslo, n.d. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/c72718aa-6f40-4088-9dbf-a66f109d538e/Nonstate Actors Fragmentation and Conflict Processes.pdf?inline=true.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Pearlman |first1=Wendy |last2=Cunningham |first2=Kathleen Gallagher |title=Nonstate actors, fragmentation, and conflict processes |publisher=Peace Research Institute Oslo |url=https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/c72718aa-6f40-4088-9dbf-a66f109d538e/Nonstate Actors Fragmentation and Conflict Processes.pdf?inline=true |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{pearlmanndnonstate, author = {Pearlman, Wendy and Cunningham, Kathleen Gallagher}, title = {{Nonstate actors, fragmentation, and conflict processes}}, institution = {Peace Research Institute Oslo}, url = {https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/c72718aa-6f40-4088-9dbf-a66f109d538e/Nonstate Actors Fragmentation and Conflict Processes.pdf?inline=true}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }