Civil wars as militarized political conflicts create dependencies and constraints for armed actors as well as civilians that entail relational mechanisms in which basic survival considerations and coercive forms of control many supersede political preferences and notions of political legitimacy. Secondly, whereas social movement studies have to some extent focused on movements as challengers of incumbent governments and established elites, civil wars make clear that power relations between states and non state armed actors may be much more fluent and armed group and militant movements can shift into a position of governing certain areas and populations .