Civil War Researchers Overlook Fatality Thresholds? New Findings on Narcotics Matter

Problem: Civil war studies debate the right fatality threshold but rarely check how results change across different levels. This could miss crucial differences between minor and major conflicts.

New Insight: Looking at multiple thresholds reveals that the link between narcotics and conflict intensity isn't uniform - it varies significantly.

Solution: We propose a dynamic theory: rebel groups endogenously adopt drug cultivation as a tactic, especially when conventional resources dwindle or strategic circumstances shift.

This suggests scholars should reconsider their case definitions to capture nuances in how factors like narcotics drive conflict differently across severity levels.