Overview

In Gambling with Violence, Yelena Biberman tackles a global problem that is particularly consequential for Pakistan and India: state outsourcing of violence to ordinary civilians, criminals, and ex-insurgents. Why would these countries gamble with their own national security by outsourcing violence - arming nonstate actors inside their own borders? Drawing on over 200 interviews, archival research, and fieldwork conducted across Asia, Europe, and North America, Biberman introduces the ""balance-of-interests"" thesis to deepen our understanding of state-nonstate alliances in civil war. This framework centers on the distribution of power during war and shows how various combinations of interests result in distinct types of coalitions. Incorporating case studies of civil war and counterinsurgency, her book sheds light on how militias, alliances, and South Asian security connect today.

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9780190929978

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Reviews

...excellent book...This is a useful addition to the literature on civil wars and the conflict over Kashmir. -- M.E. Carranza, Texas A&M University -- Kingsville, CHOICE We know that outsourcing violence is a hard decision for states, and yet we do not fully understand the how, why and, equally importantly, between whom. Biberman's excellent study combines a balance of interest framework with in-depth accounts to significantly improve our understanding. -Stathis N. Kalyvas, Gladstone Professor of Government, University of Oxford This is a fascinating, carefully-researched, and theoretically supple study of the conditions under which states forge alliances with nonstate actors in civil wars. The book will be of considerable interest to scholars of South Asia, counterinsurgency, and civil wars. -Sumit Ganguly, Distinguished Professor of Political Science and Rabindranath Tagore Chair in Indian Cultures and Civilizations, Indiana University - Bloomington Yelena Biberman offers an important new argument about the sources of alliances between governments and non-state armed groups. Combining a novel typology, clear theoretical argument, and detailed comparisons in South Asia and beyond, this work makes a valuable contribution to our understanding of state-armed group relations in the contemporary world. -Paul Staniland, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Chicago

In this excellent book, Schain sustains focus on border policy, which is often treated as a subset of broader migration policy rather than a topic worth of consideration in itself. I have been in the field for decades and I learned much from this book. -- Randall Hansen, Interim Director, Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, University of Toronto A remarkable analysis on the politics of border in Europe and the United States by one of the best political scientists on Europe and American immigration policies. -- Catherine Wihtol de Wenden, Senior Research Fellow, The French National Centre for Scientific Research Asylum policy is much in the news, yet reporting and scholarship on the subject raises many questions. What is the difference between a refugee and a migrant? When do borders involve national policies? When do treaties override national policy regimes? This is the complex landscape that Schain deftly navigates in this important and timely book. -- Mabel Berezin, Professor of Sociology, Cornell University, and author of Illiberal Politics in Neoliberal Times

Yelena Biberman offers an important new argument about the sources of alliances between governments and non-state armed groups. Combining a novel typology, clear theoretical argument, and detailed comparisons in South Asia and beyond, this work makes a valuable contribution to our understanding of state-armed group relations in the contemporary world. * Paul Staniland, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Chicago * This is a fascinating, carefully-researched, and theoretically supple study of the conditions under which states forge alliances with nonstate actors in civil wars. The book will be of considerable interest to scholars of South Asia, counterinsurgency, and civil wars. * Sumit Ganguly, Distinguished Professor of Political Science and Rabindranath Tagore Chair in Indian Cultures and Civilizations, Indiana University - Bloomington * We know that outsourcing violence is a hard decision for states, and yet we do not fully understand the how, why and, equally importantly, between whom. Biberman's excellent study combines a balance of interest framework with in-depth accounts to significantly improve our understanding. * Stathis N. Kalyvas, Gladstone Professor of Government, University of Oxford *

""...excellent book...This is a useful addition to the literature on civil wars and the conflict over Kashmir."" -- M.E. Carranza, Texas A&M University -- Kingsville, CHOICE ""We know that outsourcing violence is a hard decision for states, and yet we do not fully understand the how, why and, equally importantly, between whom. Biberman's excellent study combines a balance of interest framework with in-depth accounts to significantly improve our understanding.""-Stathis N. Kalyvas, Gladstone Professor of Government, University of Oxford ""This is a fascinating, carefully-researched, and theoretically supple study of the conditions under which states forge alliances with nonstate actors in civil wars. The book will be of considerable interest to scholars of South Asia, counterinsurgency, and civil wars.""-Sumit Ganguly, Distinguished Professor of Political Science and Rabindranath Tagore Chair in Indian Cultures and Civilizations, Indiana University - Bloomington ""Yelena Biberman offers an important new argument about the sources of alliances between governments and non-state armed groups. Combining a novel typology, clear theoretical argument, and detailed comparisons in South Asia and beyond, this work makes a valuable contribution to our understanding of state-armed group relations in the contemporary world.""-Paul Staniland, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Chicago

Author Information

Yelena Biberman is an assistant professor of political science at Skidmore College and Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council's South Asia Center. She specializes in the study of political violence, South Asian politics, and unconventional warfare.

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