Control and Collaboration: Simulating the Logic of Violence in Civil War for Political Science Students

Abstract

This article outlines a classroom simulation of Kalyvas's control-collaboration model of violence in civil war. Although central to conflict studies, the control-collaboration model has not been previously simulated so that it may be taught in an intuitive manner to advanced undergraduate students. The simulation presents students with strategic choices available to both armed actors and noncombatants in a contested village. The simulation captures three core elements of the control-collaboration model: (1) the joint production of violence by combatants and noncombatants; (2) the concentration of selective violence in zones of partial control; and (3) the disjuncture between a conflict's master and local cleavages.