Some rebel groups abuse noncombatant populations, while others exhibit restraint. Insurgent leaders in some countries transform local structures of government, while others simply extract resources for their own benefit. In some contexts, groups kill their victims selectively, while in other environments violence appears indiscriminate, even random. This book presents a theory that accounts for the different strategies pursued by rebel groups in civil war, explaining why patterns of insurgent violence vary so much across conflicts. It does so by examining the membership, structure, and behavior of four insurgent movements in Uganda, Mozambique, and Peru. Drawing on interviews with nearly two hundred combatants and civilians who experienced violence firsthand, it shows that rebels' strategies depend in important ways on how difficult it is to launch a rebellion. The book thus demonstrates how characteristics of the environment in which rebellions emerge constrain rebel organization and shape the patterns of violence that civilians experience. “This book is a major advance in the study of civil war - it will become one of the few essential readings. By focusing on the problems faced by actual rebel organizations it generates a devastating result. Rebellions are most liable to be corrupted into extortion in precisely those situations where they might seem most justified.” -Paul Collier, Oxford University “Why are some rebellions so much bloodier than others? Weinstein argues that much depends on how rebels raise money and recruit members. His analysis is compelling, meticulous, filled with remarkable insights, and rooted in a deep understanding of recent conflicts. This is an essential book for both scholars and policy analysts who care about the spread of violence and civil war.” -Michael Ross, University of California at Los Angeles 'Why do some rebels groups terrorize the communities around them and others target only the government? Based on thorough field work and astute comparisons, Jeremy Weinstein shows that the source of rebels’ finances--from drugs and looting or from community support--shapes who gets recruited, whether their organization is disciplined, and whether they commit mass atrocities. Inside Rebellion makes a powerful conceptual argument of wide applicability, but also gets down in the weeds of local violence to examine killers’ motives and modes of operation.” -Jack Snyder, Columbia University 'Why do some insurgent groups engage in indiscriminate violence against civilians while other groups use violence much more selectively? Jeremy Weinstein proposes an answer both simple and profound. Where insurgencies can draw on readily available economic resources, the dominant insurgency will show little restraint. In the absence of such resources, insurgencies engage in violence selectively. Drawing on extraordinary field research in Uganda, Mozambique and Peru combined with quantitative analysis, this compelling work of political ethnography breaks new ground in the understanding of political violence.” -Elisabeth Jean Wood, Yale University and the Santa Fe Institute 'Primarily based on case studies of wars in Uganda, Mozambique, and Peru, although Weinstein offers data from many other conflicts as well, his book demonstrates that insurgencies that can count on either foreign support or mining revenues -- and thus do not need the support of local populations to survive -- are much more likely to commit violence against civilians. He shows convincingly that civilian violence is rarely random: it follows a logic related to the internal needs of guerrilla armies.” -Nicolas van de Walle, Foreign Affairs 'Inside Rebellion combines clear and sharp theoretical insights with multiple and well-designed methods to address an important issue and moves the debate substantially forward...This book will be required reading for any core graduate comparative politics class as well as all classes on civil war and most on contentious politics." -Stephen Saideman, McGill University, Canadian Journal of Political Science 'Jeremy Weinstein's Inside Rebellion is an ambitious and rewarding study of why insurgent groups vary in their structure, governance, and war-fighting. This work makes major conceptual, theoretical, and empirical contributions to our understanding of civil conflict...Inside Rebellion offers an original conceptualization of how insurgent organizations work that is linked to both a provocative theory and in-depth empirical research. It clearly lays the basis for future work on organization and strategy of insurgent groups." -Paul Staniland, Review of Politics This book presents a theory to account for the different strategies pursued by rebel groups in civil war. Jeremy M. Weinstein is an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science at Stanford University. His research focuses on civil war, ethnic politics, and the political economy of development in Africa. He has publish