In the 33rd episode, I speak to Paul Staniland, Political Scientist at the University of Chicago on his recent book Ordering Violence: Explaining Armed Group-State Relations from Conflict to Cooperation published by Cornell University Press. The book is a theoretically savvy, empirically rich contribution on armed politics or how governments work with armed non-state actors across South Asian countries. The conversation begins by asking Staniland how a second book differs from the first before connecting his first book unpacking insurgent rebellions to the second that’s much broader in scope. Then we tackle the core focus and arguments of the book that covers armed politics or the relationship between the government and non-state armed groups and what shapes how governments work with these groups and why they sometimes choose not to and what happens when there’s alignment on some issues but not all. Then we move to discuss the connection between politics and violence and why a more sensitive context-specific approach is required to understand that dynamic. The conversation then explores the case studies that are all South Asian - India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and Myanmar and the logic in selecting and analysing regionally comparative cases. The conversation ends by asking whether this specific dynamic could change when considering unarmed non-state actors like trade unions and religious organisations and how they work with governments in South Asia; the hardest part of writing the book; and what's next.

https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501761126/ordering-violence/#bookTabs=2

Politics of Opposition in South Asia - https://carnegieendowment.org/specialprojects/politicsofoppositioninsouthasia