Ordering Violence: Explaining Armed Group-State Relations from Conflict to Cooperation

In 2022, the ceasefire between the Government of India and the National Socialist Council of Nagalim–Isak-Muivah (NSCN–IM) entered its 25th year. While the ceasefire has greatly reduced violence between the group and security forces, it has by no means ended it. Despite recent moves to reduce the coverage of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), the region remains heavily militarized; during times of tension in the peace talks, a game of ‘cat and mouse’ ensues between NSCN–IM militants, keen to consolidate their local influence, and Indian security forces seeking to contain the group. Occasionally, this boils over into armed clashes and fatalities, but is generally capped and managed ‘within tolerable limits’.