Globally, in the past ten years, there has been a four-fold increase in internal war or civil war in developing countries. This book is one of the first full length studies on the subject. "Amalendu Misra has produced a fine integrative analysis of the variables that impact on the conflict dynamics of civil war. He goes beyond orthodox views of civil war as purely socially dysfunctional and economically destructive in order to help us understand the political mainsprings of violence and foster nuanced ideas for mitigating conflict." - Michael Pugh, Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Bradford, UK "This book should prove a useful resource for those interested in civil war as there are few single-volume works that cover the range of intrastate war-related issues that this book does. The book's accessibility to readers is enhanced by the multi-disciplinary approach that the author employs to write about his subject and his lively discussion of a number of civil war cases." - Caroline Hartzell, Associate Professor of Political Science, Gettysburg College, USA