Utilizing various theoretical, methodological and disciplinary perspectives, our task is to explore the social dynamics of civil war, including norms, emotions, discourses, identity, social networks, narratives, and gender. Can we shed new light on enduring questions related to civil conflict – agency and motives, group mobilization, post-conflict peace building – by thinking of the social in new and different ways? Are there research programs, bodies of theory, or methodological tools on social dynamics in other contexts that can teach us something new about civil wars?