Replication data for: Ruthless Rulers: Coalition Size and the Severity of Civil Conflict

What explains the level of violence during civil wars? In this paper, we argue that the size of the ruling coalition is a critical determinant of the severity of conflict. To maintain control over patronage, elites will fight to ward off challengers. The degree to which they use coercion hinges upon the level of private benefits they receive, which is in turn determined by coalition size. Further, we expect democracies to be more constrained in their use of force due to larger government coalitions and constraints on power. To proxy for coalition size, we use new data on the ethnic affiliation of heads of state. An empirical analysis of over 200 armed civil conflicts reveals that conflicts involving smaller ruling coalitions yield a greater number of deaths.内战期间的暴力烈度究竟由何种因素驱动？本文提出，执政联盟规模是冲突烈度的核心决定因素。为维持对政治分肥资源的掌控，精英阶层将全力抵御挑战者的冲击。其动用强制手段的强度，取决于自身所获私人收益的高低，而该收益水平又由执政联盟的规模直接决定。进一步来看，由于民主政体的政府执政联盟更为庞大且受到权力制衡约束，其武力使用理应受到更多限制。为将执政联盟规模作为代理变量，本文采用了一套全新的国家元首族裔归属数据。通过对200余场武装内战的实证分析，本文证实：执政联盟规模较小的内战，往往会造成更多人员死亡。