ABSTRACT
This chapter explores both the spatial and social network causes of violence of rebel groups in Africa from 1997 to 2014. Building on Exponential Random Graph models (ERGMs), the analysis suggests that ideology is a predictor of political violence in Africa only if two groups share an Islamist agenda. The contribution also shows that spatial contiguity itself does not explain why rebel groups attack each other, suggesting that not all violence is locally rooted. This exploratory analysis is a first step toward a more spatially based understanding of how and why violent organizations attack each other.
