Cooperating to Resist: The Effect of Cooperation Networks on Violent and Nonviolent Resistance
Resistance events vary considerably in their characteristics, such as frequency and intensity. In my PhD project I study the effect of cooperation on the characteristics of resistance events, including protests and terror attacks. I focus on cooperation between groups sanctioned by the state. Due to limited access to open markets and official sources cooperation allows sanctioned groups to pool and complement assets. Those assets are crucial for resistance groups to successfully perform events. Resistance events are not independent events, as groups cooperate in networks to carry them out. By calculating network models, I account for this interconnected nature of resistance events. Among others I assess the effect of a group's direct and indirect cooperation partners and its location within the global cooperation network over time and space. To test my hypotheses, I analyze large-n data and conduct fieldwork in a complementary case study. Taking into account that resistance groups cooperate in networks to exchange resources, I contribute to the understanding of event features, such as frequency and intensity. This novel integration of research on violent and nonviolent resistance will amend existing explanations of resistance groups’ success.