Syria & Militant Networks
Using Rebel Social Media Data to Study Rebel Behavior
We are currently working on a hierarchical, networked event dataset of the Syrian Civil War based on rebel social media data. In doing so, we explore the viability of rebel-produced media as a source of data on rebel behavior in conflict zones (pitfalls and promises alike). We use this data to evaluate `frenemies’ relationships in the context of civil war, whether the use of more extreme violence by one militant group affects the use of violence by other militant groups in the network, and rebel use of WMEs (weapons of mass effect).
This project is funded by United States Air Force Academy Young Investigator Award #FA7000-18-0017 — "Understanding the Impacts of WMD/WME Attacks on Patterns of Militant Group Tactical Cooperation, Alliance Formation, Infighting, Outbidding, and Extremism" (Emily K. Gade, Principal Investigator, 2018-2020).
This project builds directly upon work completed with Michael Gabbay and Mohammed Hafez:
Fratricide in rebel movements: A network analysis of Syrian militant infighting (Emily Gade, Mohammed Hafez, Michael Gabbay, Journal of Peace Research, 2019, 56(3): 321–335). This article was recently awarded the “Article of the Year” award by the Journal of Peace Research.
Networks of Cooperation: Rebel Alliances in Fragmented Civil Wars. (Emily Gade, Michael Gabby, Mohammed Hafez, and Zane Kelly, Journal of Conflict Resolution, 2019, 63(9)).
Working papers/papers under review:
``Competition among adversaries or allies? Measuring violent contagion among militant groups," Kai Ping Leung and Emily K Gade.
``Understanding militant Weapons of Mass Effect (WMEs) use in civil conflict,'' Bree Bang-Jensen and Emily K. Gade.
“The pitfalls and promise of using rebel-produced media for large-scale conflict data collection (feat. the SAGAA---Syrian Armed Groups, Alliances and Actions---dataset)." Gade, Emily K., Bree Bang Jensen, Shahryar Minhas, Kai Ping Leung, Ava Sharifi, Michael Gabby, Mohammed Hafez, and the O/R Lab Syria team (listed alphabetically: Bernadette Bresee, Connor Clerkin, Sarah Duggan, Ramin Farrokhi, Willa Jeffers, Ben Lefkowitz, Kayla Salehian, Arica Shreutt, Emily Thomas, Patrick Perison and Samantha Vasquez).
"Frenemies: Examining the Durability of Rebel Relationships in Civil War," Arica Schuett, Willa Jeffers, and Emily K. Gade.
"Airstikes and Rebel Behavior," Buark Yilmaz, Bernadette Bresee, Ramin Farrokhi, and Emily K. Gade.