Collective Action and Civil War in Africa

Civil war is an everyday reality for many people across the globe. The impact for civilians is immense, both during and after conflict. Nonetheless, comparatively few sociologists have engaged in the study of civil war in recent years. In my research, I try to address this gap.

A great deal of action that occurs during civil wars – e.g., mobilization, desertion, defection, and collective violence – can be usefully studied from a collective action perspective. In my research, I often adopt such a perspective. By doing so, I do not only try to explain social behavior, but also attempt to generate new questions pertaining to the study of collective action. Watch the video to find out more about those questions, as they emerged from my research on the civil war in southern Sudan!