Civil War
1
Introduction
The horrific events in the 1990s in the Balkans, Rwanda, Chechnya and elsewhere have led
to a remarkable upsurge in the study of civil war. The modern study of civil war lies at the
intersection of international relations—with its traditional emphasis on inter -state conflict
processes—and comparative politics—with its traditional emphasis on intra-state processes
such as governance, regime stability, and cohesion. Until recently, however, scholars in in-
ternational relations largely ignored internal conflict while scholars of comparative politics
essentially disregarded the role of international factors in internal conflict. It is not surpris-
ing, therefore, that the relation between international and internal conflict remains poorly
understood.
Researchers have tended to assume that conflicts between states and conflicts within
states are inherently different and have sought international and domestic explanatory factors
for each type of conflict separately. However, contemporary and historical events suggest
that conflict within and between states often is closely intertwined. A good example is the
the fall of the notorious Ugandan President Idi Amin. In power since a coup against Milton
Obote in 1971, the former army chief Amin ruled with an iron fist and became increasingly
brutal towards formerly trusted associates and high ranking military officers perceived to
threaten his hold on power. In October 1978, after a prominent general was injured in
a highly suspicious car accident, an army regiment in Eastern Uganda launched a mutiny
against the president, leading to serious clashes with other forces loyal to the president.
Amin accused President Nyerere of Tanzania of aiding the rebels. (Obote and his supporters
had attempted a coup against Amin in 1972 and now lived in exile in Tanzania.) Although
Amin was obsessed with the idea that Obote would try to regain power with the help of
Tanzania there appears to be little direct evidence suggesting that the 1978 mutiny had been
engineered by Tanzania. Nonetheless, on 30 October Amin sent troops into Tanzania and
formally annexed the 700 square mile Kagera Salient territory. Nyerere responded with a
1
Convention