"The essays in this volume follow the political, economic, and social processes behind the emergence of VNSAs and the way in which they manipulate crises. Contributors isolate the point at which violence becomes desirable to the non-state actor and explore how this change alters the relationship between VNSAs and the state, and they track the influence of VNSAs on the rebuilding of the very governments they tear down. One of the first resources to describe these groups in depth, this volume decodes the internal structure of VNSAs, their recruitment strategies and ideologies their characteristics and partnerships, and their fundamental similarities and differences."--Jacket. "The essays in this volume follow the political, economic, and social processes behind the emergence of VNSAs and the way in which they manipulate crises. Contributors isolate the point at which violence becomes desirable to the non-state actor and explore how this change alters the relationship between VNSAs and the state, and they track the influence of VNSAs on the rebuilding of the very governments they tear down. One of the first resources to describe these groups in depth, this volume decodes the internal structure of VNSAs, their recruitment strategies and ideologies their characteristics and partnerships, and their fundamental similarities and differences."--Jacket.

Introduction: Violent non-state actors: exploring their state relations, legitimation, and operationality / Klejda Mulaj -- Fragmentation of sovereignty and violent non-state actors in Colombia / Nazih Richani -- From VNSAs to constitutional politicians: militarism and politics in the Irish Republican Army / Jonathan Tonge -- The persistence of nationalist terrorism: the case of ETA / Ignacio Sánchez-Cuenca -- The Kosovo Liberation Army and the intricacies of legitimacy / Klejda Mulaj -- The rise and fall of militant Islamic groups in Egypt / Hassanein Tawfik Ibrahim -- Force of arms and Hizbullah's staying power in precarious Lebanon / Judith Palmer Harik -- Hamas and the prospects of de-radicalization / Omar Ashour -- Armed groups and fragmentation and globalization in Iraq / Eric Herring -- Al Qaeda: from the near to the far enemy and back (1988-2008) / Mohammad-Mahmoud Ould Mohamedou -- The role of sub-national actors in Afghanistan / Amin Saikal -- Militia formation and the 'nationalization' of local conflict in Liberia / Morten Bøås -- Understanding the character and politics of the Revolutionary United Front in Sierra Leone / Kwesi Aning -- UNITA's insurgency lifecycle in Angola / Assis Malaquias -- Violent non-state actors in Sudan / William Reno -- Non-state actors and the role of violence in stateless Somalia / Ken Menkhaus -- Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE): failed quest for a 'homeland' / Syed Rifaat Hussain -- Private military firms: the profit side of VNSAs / Peter W. Singer -- Non-state actors in conflict: a challenge for policy and for law / Alyson J.K. Bailes and Daniel Nord.