TY - THES A1 - Goedeking, Matthias T1 - Weak Ties, Strong Threats? Building and Undermining Inter-Ethnic Coalitions in Civil Wars N2 - This dissertation examines how ethnic groups cooperate against the state in civil wars and how the state strategically responds to this threat of multi-ethnic rebellion. Through three papers, I demonstrate that, first, ethnic groups frequently form coalitions in civil wars when structural conditions facilitate trust-building; second, states preemptively co-opt small ethnic groups when they could serve as bridges between potential challenger groups; and third, governments strategically direct economic investments toward excluded groups that occupy central positions in ethnic networks to prevent conflict diffusion. Leveraging group-level data on ethnic power relations, settlement patterns, and economic development at a global scale, I show that rather than being isolated actors, ethnic groups exist in networks of ties that shape both their ability to become part of threatening inter-ethnic rebellions and state responses to this threat. The findings contribute to our understanding of ethnic politics by highlighting the role of inter-ethnic relations in driving minority group behavior and ethnic politics. T3 - Dissertations submitted to the Hertie School - 03/2025 Y1 - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b1570-opus4-57464 U6 - https://doi.org/10.48462/opus4-5746 N1 - Shelf mark: 2025D003; 2025D003+1 ER -