INSURGENT ATTACKS, GOVERNMENT PROTECTION, AND INTERNATIONAL INTERVENTION KJELL HAUSKEN* Faculty of Science and Technology University of Stavanger 4036 Stavanger, Norway MTHULI NCUBE Professor, Managing Director and Head Quantum Global Research Lab Ltd Bahnhofstrasse 2 CH 6300 Zug, Switzerland Keywords: International intervention, terrorism, fighting, protection, incumbent, challenger, conflict. Journal of Economic Literature classification numbers: C72, D72, D74 Acknowledgement: We acknowledge the research assistance from Kate Ryan and Habiba Ben Barka. Abstract A government failing to protect against insurgents may or may not be rescued by the international community. Classifying events during 1961-2012, we find that among the successful interventions, war occurs more often than tension which occurs more often than that the government remains in power. Unsuccessful interventions are less common than successful interventions. When the government protects successfully, tension occurs more often than that the government remains in power, which occurs more often than war. Empirical tests show that the type of intervener matters. U.S. interventions tend to cause more successful outcomes. 1. Introduction 1.1 Background and contribution The development of international institutions makes situations more common where the international community defned as foreign governments intervenes militarily to rescue governments unsuccessfully repelling insurgents (rebels, opponents, adversaries, terrorists, etc) seeking to take control over a country or region. Examples of motives for such interventions are ideology, humanitarianism, stability, and access to natural and other International Journal of Development and Confict 9(2019) 142–175 *Corresponding author Email: kjell.hausken@uis.no Copyright © Kjell Hausken and Mthuli Ncube. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License 3.0