Agents of atrocity : leaders, followers, and the violation of human rights in civil war / Neil J. Mitchell.

Originally published: New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004.

Paperback edition published in April 2009.

Includes bibliographical references (pages [213]-222) and index.

1. Machiavelli, the grand inquisitor, and Count Tilly's reward -- 2. The principals and agents of political violence -- 3. The Arab-Israeli 20,000-day war -- 4. The Russian Civil War -- 5. The English Civil War -- 6. The three horsemen of political violence.

"Placing responsibility clearly in the hands of political leadership, Mitchell explores the interaction of leaders, their management practices and repressive policies, using the English and Russian civil wars to shed light on when leaders are more or less likely to turn to atrocities to achieve their goals. With civil wars continuing to rage around the world, Agents of Atrocity provides a timely history of atrocities and the leaders and henchmen who carried them out, while providing a new context for understanding why they occur and how they can be prevented in the future."--BOOK JACKET.