increasing resort to violence that violates local and/or international norms-that I hold are ultimately based on conscience, empathy and honour (Ten Dam 2014: 8-9)-is of prime importance to the field of conflict studies in general and to the “emerging multidisciplinary field” of ethnogeopolitics (Rezvani 2013: 4) in particular.1 Apparently, most conflicts are internal, insurgent, ethnic and separatist in nature, and one wishes to prevent or curtail the suffering involved.Various indicative factors are used to assess whether a given situation has met the required intensity threshold, such as the number, duration and intensity of individual confrontations the types of weapons and military equipment used the number of persons and types of forces participating in the fighting the number of casualties the extent of material destruction the number of civilians fleeing and the involvement of the United Nations Security Council. After all, without rebels, no rebellions. Arguably, rebels or insurgents are the most important and dominant kind of armed non-state actors. the “violent opposition to the ruler, government regime or state for any personal, collective or ideological purpose” (Ten Dam 2015a: 6 (quote), 15). What brutalises rebels? What makes them cruel, or makes them do things that we consider cruel and immoral? That is a primary question-which can be put to all kinds of armed actors-of my research on rebels and rebellion, i.e. open peer-reviews in the same issue (Ibid, pp.24-25).

No.2, pp.9-23), partially in response to the two Critical Responses i.e. NB: This article is an updated, expanded and improved version of the article by the same author that appeared in the Autumn 2015 issue of this journal titled ‘Looking at Conflict Patterns: Declining Frequencies yet Persistent Brutalities in both Ethnic and Non-Ethnic Conflicts’ (Vol 3. The question of brutalisation-which can be put to all kinds of armed actors-is of prime importance to the field of conflict studies in general and to the “emerging multidisciplinary field” of ethnogeopolitics (Rezvani 2013a: 4) in particular. the “violent opposition to the ruler, government regime or state for any personal, collective or ideological purpose” (Ten Dam 2015a: 6 (quote),15).

What brutalises rebels? What makes them cruel, or makes them do things that we consider cruel and immoral? That is a primary question of my research on rebels and rebellion, i.e.

Number of armed conflict by type