Transnational Escalation Mechanisms of Violent Resistance

Resistance against domestic and international rule by dissident movements has become a key issue in IR. As in other strands of research on resistance, there is a need for studies on its transnational dimensions. Focusing on violent resistance, we develop a framework to analyze transnational processes of (de-)escalation in non-state resistance, comparing historical and contemporary cases. We consider both rule and resistance: the dyadic relation of power and dissidence. In a reversal of the Foucaultian insight – „where there is rule, there is resistance” – we learn more about rule by studying resistance and analyzing perceptions of unjust rule enables us to analyze the functionality of political violence. By applying historical process tracing, we focus on strategic decisions leading to (de-)escalation of violence. We presume that transnational interactions – in ideological, organizational and material terms – crucially affected these decisions and we integrate both agency and structure into the analysis.