Jon Vidar Sigurdsson

Medieval and Modern Civil Wars Jon Vidar Sigurdsson

Most medieval historians have explained the 'civil wars' in Scandinavia in the 12th and 13th centuries as internal conflicts within a predominantly national and implicitly state-centered politico-constitutional framework. This book argues that the conflicts during this period should be viewed as less disruptive, less internal and less state-centered than in previous research. It does so through six articles comparing the civil wars in Scandinavia with civil wars in Afghanistan and Guinea-Bissau in the last decades, applying theories and perspectives from anthropology and political science. Finally, four articles discuss civil wars in a broader perspective.


Contributors are Ebrahim Afsah, Gerd Althoff, Jenny Benham, John Comaroff, Hans Jacob Orning, Frederik Rosen, Jon Vidar Sigurdsson, Henrik Vigh, Helle Vogt, Stephen D. White, and Oyvind Osterud.