Gambling with Violence

...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