The Tactical Use of Civil Resistance by Rebel Groups

Evidence from India’s Maoist Insurgency

Datos Bibliográficos

ID6285167
AutoresRoman Krtsch (0000-0002-7616-2466, Osnabrück University, autor de correspondencia)
Año2021
Volumen65
Número7-8
Páginas1251-1277
Fecha de publicación2021-08-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaJournal of Conflict Resolution (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0022-0027 • E-ISSN: 1552-8766
EditorialSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0022002721995547
OpenAlexW3129979903
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas4
Referencias citadas49

Research on rebel behavior during conflicts has traditionally focused on the use of violent tactics. However, evidence from several intrastate wars suggests that armed groups also occasionally employ general strikes—a method of civil resistance that has typically been associated with nonviolent groups. But when do rebels resort to general strikes? I argue that these tactics have a particular function which can offset potential risks for rebels after they have suffered losses in previous battles: Through general strikes, rebels signal sustained authority to the local population. The argument is tested for districts in Eastern India using newly compiled, disaggregated data on contentious action during the Maoist conflict. The paper contributes to a burgeoning literature on wartime civilian activism in two ways: First, it shows that armed groups themselves rely situationally on civilian mobilization. Second, it investigates the effect of conditions endogenous to the conflict on these tactical choices

Argument (complex analysis · Armed conflict · Civil Conflict · Criminology · Development economics · Economics · Insurgency · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Population · Resistance (ecology · Sociology · Spanish Civil War · China's Socioeconomic Reforms and Governance · Law · Political Conflict and Governance · Southeast Asian Sociopolitical Studies