Speaker: Evan Perkoski, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, International Security Program

Why do insurgents recruit experienced fighters at some times and untrained novices at others? Research suggests that insurgent organizations place a premium on committed members who demonstrate political devotion. But research also suggests that groups are willing to compromise on commitment when compelled by other priorities. The speaker will introduce and evaluate a theory with a case study of Al Qaeda in Iraq and its successor, the Islamic State.

Everyone is welcome to join us via Zoom! Register before the seminar here: 
https://harvard.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwlduGqrjkoHNfmZBpGFmPUnDxyc_drOxen

This seminar examines variation among militant splinter groups, and the speaker argues that how and why they break away is key to explaining their ultimate behavior. This research not only demonstrates that how militants form strongly shapes their long-term trajectory, but it also calls into question key assumptions that are central to U.S. counterinsurgency policy.

Please join us! Coffee and tea provided. Everyone is welcome, but admittance will be on a first come–first served basis.

States commonly employ a divide and conquer strategy against violent nonstate actors, aiming to fragment terrorist groups, shatter their organizational networks, and compel existing members to renounce violence. Surprisingly, there has been little systematic analysis of precisely how internal splintering affects the trajectories of terrorist organizations and why the subsequent splinter groups develop in particular ways. This presentation highlights a new theory of organizational fragmentation that ultimately connects the different causes of group splintering with particular outcomes, and it presents preliminary evidence on the development of terrorist splinter organizations over time.

Please join us! Coffee and tea provided. Everyone is welcome, but admittance will be on a first come–first served basis.