The Logic of Violence in Civil War

Kalyvas’s account of why civil-war violence is selective where control is contested and indiscriminate where it is not — built on micro-level data, including denunciation records from the Greek civil war.

Why it’s on the list: Named in the replies to @SpencrGreenberg asking what non-fiction book taught you the most about how the world really works — a crowd-sourced list Kyle recovered by hand and saved. Its central finding is that much wartime killing is settled by private local scores rather than by ideology.

Where I saw it: In the replies to @SpencrGreenberg asking “What non-fiction book taught you the most about how the world (or how humanity or society) really works?” (June 5, 2025). Kyle recovered the reply list by hand and saved it to his “Books To Read” Apple Note; the full transcribed list lives on A question for you — What non-fiction… (tweet).

Connections

• A question for you — What non-fiction… (tweet) — the thread this came out of; the full recovered list lives there.
• War — the subject.
• People Over Politics — the portfolio idea this sits closest to.