Why do some national movements succeed while others do not? That question is at the heart of a new book by Assistant Professor of Political Science Peter Krause. In Rebel Power: Why National Movements Compete, Fight, and Win (Cornell University Press, 2017), Krause theorizes that the most powerful groups push to achieve states while they are in position to rule them, whereas weaker groups unlikely to gain the spoils of office are likely to become spoilers, employing risky, escalating violence to forestall victory while they improve their position in the movement hierarchy. Krause’s book is based on years of fieldwork as well as more than 150 interviews with participants in the Palestinian, Zionist, Algerian, and Irish national movements. Krause identifies new turning points in the history of these movements and provides fresh explanations for their use of violent and nonviolent strategies, as well as their numerous successes and failures. Krause was interviewed about his book on NECN’s “The Take.”