The phenomenon in which rebel groups coalesce under one umbrella organization but still maintain their independent existence is quite common. In some cases, the organization dissolved after a short period, and these groups resume either acting independently or being completely absorbed into the larger movements. But in other cases, these umbrella insurgent organizations (henceforth – UIO), manage to operate within the framework of their agreement for a considerable period of time, thus changing completely the nature of the conflict.
Notwithstanding the prevalence of UIO’s today, they do not occupy a central place in the civil-war literature, and therefore we know very little about their internal dynamics and their influence on the conflict with the state. While several recent studies have come out of the boundaries of the dyadic rebel-government relationships by exploring the inter-rebel dynamics, these studies were more focused on rebel alliance on one hand, or the chances of rebel fragmentation on the other. However, little scholarly attention was devoted to examining the internal dynamics of UIO’s and the effect these groups have on the duration and nature of the conflict. This study asks to fill this lacuna by developing a framework that examines these exact questions, a framework that can later be developed and tested in other studies. This framework will be built by an in-depth analysis of two UIO`s that operated in the same territory - the Jewish United Resistance Movement (1945-1946) and the Palestinian Liberation Organization (1964- 1994).