Journal of Conflict Resolution

February 2012

The most prominent form of violent conflict in the world today occurs within states rather than between them. Since 1945, over 75 percent of militarized disputes have been civil conflicts. From the African continent to the Balkans, civil wars have raged and self-determination movements have mobilized for collective violence. Conflict over identity has emerged as a central problem for nations and the internal community as nationalist groups battle the state and each other in places like Iraq and Sudan.
 
Pearlman, W., & Cunningham, K. G. (2012). Nonstate actors, fragmentation, and conflict processes. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 56(1), 3-15.