Salehyan examines transnational rebel organizations in civil conflicts, utilizing cross-national datasets and case studies: Nicaraguan Contra bases in Honduras and Costa Rica; the Rwandan civil war's impact on Congo; and the Kurdish PKK.

Idean Salehyan is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of North Texas. He is also a research associate at the John Goodwin Tower Center for Political Studies, Southern Methodist University and at the International Peace Research Institute, Oslo.

What happens when rebel organizations operate in more than one country? Idean Salehyan argues that although transnational rebels often benefit from interstate conflicts, they also can exacerbate or even create international disputes. Rebels without Borders significantly contributes to our understanding of the interactions between civil and interstate conflicts.

This well-written book adds another layer to the archetypal analysis of modern warfare, focusing on the influence of transnational insurgencies on conflict from a geopolitical perspective. Salehyan discusses the use that insurgents make of sanctuaries away from the battlefield and the complications this poses for intelligence gathering, counterinsurgency ops, and peacekeeping.

Stephen Saideman, McGill University:

Rebels without Borders is an interesting and important contribution to the study of civil war. Idean Salehyan's argument provides real insights into the causes and conduct of such conflicts. It is a model of twenty-first century political science—clearly written, a strong multimethod research design, ambitious and, ultimately, very persuasive.