TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2019//
TI  - Homelands versus minelands: why do armed groups commit to the laws of war?
JO  - Journal of global security studies
A1  - Fazal, Tanisha M.
A1  - Konaev, Margarita
SP  - 149
EP  - 168
VL  - 4
IS  - 2
N2  - Why do some armed groups commit to abide by the laws of war governing belligerent conduct during armed conflict, while others do not? We examine why only half the armed groups approached by the nongovernmental organization Geneva Call have signed a public Deed of Commitment banning the use of antipersonnel land mines. In contrast to recent studies that have tended to focus on the legitimacy concerns of armed groups, we argue that political objectives combine with military utility calculations to shape the behavior of armed groups in the realm of international humanitarian law. Utilizing original data on the ninety armed groups engaged by Geneva Call since 2000, we find that strong secessionist groups are most likely to sign the Deed of Commitment. Our findings have important implications for theories of international law, the study of civil wars, and on the ground efforts to mitigate the human costs of war.       civil wars, international law, armed nonstate actors, nongovernmental organizations, civilian casualties, international treaties<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 2057-3170
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jogss/ogz005
ID  - ref1
ER  -