Things Fall Apart: Understanding the Role of Ethnicity in State-Violent Non-State Actor Relations

This thesis examines why state-violent non-state actor (VNSA) relationships collapse, focusing on ethnic identity. Through case studies in Pakistan, Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, it argues that ethnic dynamics are a key factor in the outcome of these relationships. Shared ethnicity, as with Pakistan’s Punjabi state and Lashkar-e-Taiba, sustains limited cooperation despite mistrust. Differing ethnicities—Pakistan’s Punjabis versus Pashtun Taliban, Sudan’s Shaygiyya, Ja’aliyyin, and Dangala versus Darfurian Arabs, or Kabila’s Katangans versus Rwanda’s Tutsis—fuel hostility when goals diverge. This thesis offers a new perspective on state-VNSA relations by aiming to understand the role of ethnicity. It urges policymakers to address ethnic divides as a means of preventing conflict.