title: The political economy of intrastate armed conflicts: The feasibility hypothesis in the case of Pakistan

authors: Maqbool, Muhammad Yahhya

subjects: political science

abstract: This thesis examines the structural conditions that make intrastate armed conflict feasible in Pakistan. While much of the existing literature attributes Pakistan’s internal conflicts to ideology, identity, or historical grievances, this study argues that such explanations account for the framing and mobilisation of conflict but fail to explain why violence clusters in specific regions despite similar grievances elsewhere, and why multiple groups with varied motivations operate from the same locations. Addressing this conceptual gap, the thesis employs the feasibility hypothesis as its theoretical lens, which posits that sustained rebellion becomes possible where it is operationally and economically viable.
The central research question asks whether operational and economic feasibility better explains Pakistan’s conflict dynamics than ideational or grievance-based accounts. The study adopts a mixed-methods design. The quantitative analysis uses district-level cross-sectional data to test the statistical association of six independent variables (terrain ruggedness, road density, border proximity, human development, poverty, and natural resources) with conflict intensity. This is complemented by qualitative analysis of secondary literature, policy reports, and historical narratives to interpret and contextualise the empirical results.
The findings confirm that rugged terrain, proximity to porous borders (especially with Afghanistan and Iran), and low human development are significantly associated with higher conflict intensity. By contrast, poverty and road density show weak or insignificant effects, while natural resources influence conflict primarily through enabling illicit economies. These results support the argument that intrastate armed conflict persists where structural conditions make rebellion operationally and economically feasible.
Theoretically, the study localises and refines the feasibility hypothesis for sub-national analysis using improved operational proxies. Methodologically, it contributes through a mixed-methods framework linking quantitative modelling and contextual qualitative interpretation. Policy-wise, it recommends strengthening border management, improving local governance, and investing in human development to mitigate structural enablers of violence. The findings advance comparative research on the political economy of conflict by demonstrating how structural feasibility, rather than ideology alone, shapes the geography of rebellion in fragile states.

text: The political economy of intrastate armed conflicts: The feasibility hypothesis in the case of Pakistan This thesis examines the structural conditions that make intrastate armed conflict feasible in Pakistan. While much of the existing literature attributes Pakistan’s internal conflicts to ideology, identity, or historical grievances, this study argues that such explanations account for the framing and mobilisation of conflict but fail to explain why violence clusters in specific regions despite similar grievances elsewhere, and why multiple groups with varied motivations operate from the same locations. Addressing this conceptual gap, the thesis employs the feasibility hypothesis as its theoretical lens, which posits that sustained rebellion becomes possible where it is operationally and economically viable.
The central research question asks whether operational and economic feasibility better explains Pakistan’s conflict dynamics than ideational or grievance-based accounts. The study adopts a mixed-methods design. The quantitative analysis uses district-level cross-sectional data to test the statistical association of six independent variables (terrain ruggedness, road density, border proximity, human development, poverty, and natural resources) with conflict intensity. This is complemented by qualitative analysis of secondary literature, policy reports, and historical narratives to interpret and contextualise the empirical results.
The findings confirm that rugged terrain, proximity to porous borders (especially with Afghanistan and Iran), and low human development are significantly associated with higher conflict intensity. By contrast, poverty and road density show weak or insignificant effects, while natural resources influence conflict primarily through enabling illicit economies. These results support the argument that intrastate armed conflict persists where structural conditions make rebellion operationally and economically feasible.
Theoretically, the study localises and refines the feasibility hypothesis for sub-national analysis using improved operational proxies. Methodologically, it contributes through a mixed-methods framework linking quantitative modelling and contextual qualitative interpretation. Policy-wise, it recommends strengthening border management, improving local governance, and investing in human development to mitigate structural enablers of violence. The findings advance comparative research on the political economy of conflict by demonstrating how structural feasibility, rather than ideology alone, shapes the geography of rebellion in fragile states.

year: 2025-10-22

title: A trip to the library: homelessness and social inclusion

authors: Hodgetts, Darrin

subjects: homelessness

abstract: This article explores homeless men's visits to a public library. It shows how homeless men identified the library as a space for safety and social participation, at a time when the regional newspaper published an item questioning the appropriateness of their presence in the library. The news report promotes universal narratives that would exclude homeless people, showing the intimate relationship between the symbolic space of news, the material space of the local library, and the lifeworlds of homeless men. We report fieldwork in which we interviewed homeless men, library staff and patrons. In addition, we worked with journalists on follow-up articles foregrounding the positive function of the library in homeless men's lives, and to challenge existing news narratives that advocate the exclusion of 'the homeless' from prime public spaces.

text: A trip to the library: homelessness and social inclusion This article explores homeless men's visits to a public library. It shows how homeless men identified the library as a space for safety and social participation, at a time when the regional newspaper published an item questioning the appropriateness of their presence in the library. The news report promotes universal narratives that would exclude homeless people, showing the intimate relationship between the symbolic space of news, the material space of the local library, and the lifeworlds of homeless men. We report fieldwork in which we interviewed homeless men, library staff and patrons. In addition, we worked with journalists on follow-up articles foregrounding the positive function of the library in homeless men's lives, and to challenge existing news narratives that advocate the exclusion of 'the homeless' from prime public spaces.

year: 2008

title: Political critique and genealogical vision in te oriori a Rihi Puhiwahine, 1870s

authors: Iti Prendergast, Sam

abstract: Long before twentieth-century scholars developed the language to describe 'settler colonialism', nineteenth-century Māori writers, composers, and storytellers critiqued British imperialism and theorized colonial violence. In mōteatea, letters, and kōrero heke iho (narratives passed down), tūpuna Māori asked what British colonial settlement would mean for te ao Māori, the Māori world. As they reflected on the changes wrought by imperialism, tūpuna offered guidance for future uri (descendants). This is an article about the ways that one wahine Māori critiqued colonization and imagined Māori futures in the context of mid-nineteenth-century colonial invasion. More specifically, it is an article about how Rihi Puhiwahine, a renowned composer, guided her descendants through a world disfigured by British imperialism.

text: Political critique and genealogical vision in te oriori a Rihi Puhiwahine, 1870s Long before twentieth-century scholars developed the language to describe 'settler colonialism', nineteenth-century Māori writers, composers, and storytellers critiqued British imperialism and theorized colonial violence. In mōteatea, letters, and kōrero heke iho (narratives passed down), tūpuna Māori asked what British colonial settlement would mean for te ao Māori, the Māori world. As they reflected on the changes wrought by imperialism, tūpuna offered guidance for future uri (descendants). This is an article about the ways that one wahine Māori critiqued colonization and imagined Māori futures in the context of mid-nineteenth-century colonial invasion. More specifically, it is an article about how Rihi Puhiwahine, a renowned composer, guided her descendants through a world disfigured by British imperialism.

year: 2024