Why do some armed groups kidnap for ransom? Despite a dramatic spike in kidnappings by
political groups over the last several decades, there are scant existing explanations for why …

Payments made to non-state armed groups are often treated as predation. But rebel
organizations deploy multiple logics when constructing their taxation systems, many of …

Violent conflict is the primary driver of food crises worldwide. However, our understanding of
the specific role non-state armed groups (NSAGs) play in food systems remains incomplete …

Why has the Somali government failed to provide public order and essential services, while
Al-Shabaab has had relatively more success in its governance objectives? To explain this …

How do civilian protection payments to militias affect the dynamics of communal conflict?
Building on the literature on communal conflict, civilian agency, rebel taxation, and criminal …

Constituting a central historical link between war and long-term fiscal capacity, war taxes are
generally perceived to be a thing of the past. This article corrects the picture by presenting …

Most wars now take place within states instead of between them. In many cases, this
requires humanitarians to contend with non-state armed groups in order to access civilians …

Non-state armed actors'(NSAAs) control of territory is not a completely new phenomenon in
international politics. However, NSAAs resurgence in the conceptualization and …

The impact of conflict on taxation and development has long been debated. Most studies
suggest that conflict will have a depressive effect on state tax collection, negatively …

While states and non-state armed groups often engage in militarised conflict over contested
territory, at other times they co-govern in a tenuous equilibrium. Using a survey of over 1,600 …