Projekt

The mushrooming of non-state armed groups is a widespread phenomenon during internal wars, in fragile environments, against the backdrop of regime change, as accompaniment of inter-state wars or as a precursor to secession. During and after the "Maidan" revolution in Ukraine in 2013/14 a wide range of non-state armed groups emerged in an astonishingly short period of time. The project is guided by the overarching question: "How do non-state armed groups in the conflict in Ukraine cope with problems of collective action?" The project investigates the recruitment and organisation of non-state armed groups. A comparison among and between non-state armed groups on the Ukrainian and pro-Russian side will shed light on commonalities and significant variations. The project asks which incentives to act collectively members of non-state armed groups share, which resources are decisive for collective action, which collective biographical patterns increase the likelihood of recruitment, how risks of participation are assessed and what kind of organisational structures ensure external and internal control. Emphasis is given to the cross-country network-building, capacity development of young scholars, and policy relevance.

• Prof. Dr. Andreas Heinemann-Grüder

  Bonn International Center for Conversion
  (BICC)
  Bonn
  

• Andriy Matiukhanov

  Institute for Euro-Atlantic Cooperation
  Kiev
  Ukraine
  

• Dr. Dr. Andreas Umland

  Institute for Euro-Atlantic Cooperation
  Kiev
  Ukraine