This volume develops a theoretical explanation of the conditions under which and the mechanisms through which social movements' struggles for democracy ends up in civil war. 'Social Movements and Civil War is an ambitious and exceptionally original book. It analyses four cases of civil war through the prism of contentious politics and pushes our understanding of political violence forward significantly through the authors' imaginative use of the analytical concepts and tools of social movement research.' -- Niall Ó Dochartaigh, National University of Ireland 'Many studies have tried to explain why nonviolent movements for democratization in authoritarian states succeed, yet much less attention has been paid to the mechanisms through which such democratic uprisings fail. This timely and important book looks into a particularly alarming type of failure: escalation into civil war. Studying the causal mechanisms in nonviolent social movements' path to large scale political violence, the authors provide new empirical insights and a theoretical understanding of failed movement-driven democratization processes. This new book employs a compelling dynamic approach that seeks to move beyond the unfruitful dichotomy between structural and agency-based explanations which has, for too long, permeated research on nonviolent uprisings.' -- Isak Svensson, Uppsala University, Sweden 'As mass uprisings in key Arab states have escalated into vicious and obdurate civil wars, this volume could not be timelier. Social Movements and Civil War is the first major work that comprehensively bridges Social Movement Theory with the study of civil war. It draws on theoretical rigor and deep empirical insights, providing sophisticated analyses of the wars in Syria, Libya, Yemen and former Yugoslavia. This book is sure to become a major reference work for those grappling with the tragedy of democratic aspirations degenerating into large-scale violence.' -- Reinoud Leenders, King's College London, UK