The limits of armed contestation: Power and domination in armed groups

Abstract

Non-state war actors have only recently become a subject of study in political geography while other social sciences such as political anthropology, sociology and political science have addressed this subject in their respective conceptual language. This article, drawing on empirical research on war actors in 14 countries and using data on a sample of 80 such groups, advocates using the language of political sociology, and in particular that of Max Weber and Norbert Elias, to study this form of contestation. It presents some major findings of an empirical analysis built on these conceptualizations. Written from a political science perspective it tries to link up to the discourse in other social sciences, especially in political geography.