Civil war

A civil war is an armed conflict occurring within a single country, fought between the existing government and one or more armed groups originating within the country, or between two or more armed groups neither of which represents the government. Civil wars differ from international wars primarily in that the opposing sides are mostly citizens of the same country, whereas an international war involves two or more states.

Political scientists often employ a threshold definition—for example, that the conflict must result in a certain number of deaths per year above a specified level—to distinguish civil wars from localized riots. Such thresholds are contested and vary from one institution to another.

Common causes

Common causes cited include: competition for political power and weak state authority unable to control its territory; ethnic, religious, or regional division; economic inequality and competition for resources such as oil and minerals; and cycles of recurring conflict. Usually these causes overlap, and no single factor alone can account for a civil war.

Outside intervention

Most civil wars are not confined to their borders. Foreign states and regional powers may support one side by providing weapons, money, training, or diplomatic cover. Such intervention typically prolongs the conflict and can turn it into a regional or international struggle.

How they end

A civil war may end in military victory for one side over the other, in a peace agreement involving a division of power, or in territorial partition resulting in a new state. Peace agreements that include disarmament provisions, integration of armed forces, and transitional justice are considered particularly difficult to implement; recurrence of conflict in the years immediately following an agreement is a significant risk.