War as women's work
Dissident civil society mobilization and women's participation in rebellion
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 24225137 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Alianna Casas (University of Arizona), Joshua Browning-Underwood (University of Arizona), Selin Yanik (University of Arizona), Jessica Maves Braithwaite (0000-0001-5738-3047, University of Arizona) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 63 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 376-387 |
| Publication date | 2026-06-20 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Peace Research (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0022-3433 • E-ISSN: 1460-3578 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1093/jopres/xjag028 |
| OpenAlex | W7164180967 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
| References cited | 68 |
Much of the existing literature on women's participation in rebel groups focuses on issues of gendered security concerns as well as women's rights or integration into society writ large, through features like education ratios, employment rates, and political participation. We contend that, within this notion of social integration, dynamics of civil society organizations play a critical role in creating a pathway for women to join rebel groups during civil wars. Civil society organizations—especially those with an economic focus or specific structures where women can coordinate and co-mobilize with other women—provide interpersonal connections that empower women to be more socially engaged. Furthermore, when these organizations mobilize and participate in antigovernment dissent, this offers women important experience with high-risk activities as well as cues about heightened grievances within their communities. We argue that dissent by economic and gender-oriented civil society organizations provides pathways for women to subsequently mobilize within rebel groups in pursuit of their desired reforms. We test our hypotheses using new data on civil society organizations in antigovernment dissent in Africa, Central America, and the Caribbean, and find support for our theoretical expectations.
civil society organizations · Civil war · Dissent · gender and war · Social integration · Social networks · women's mobilization · Gender Politics and Representation · Gender, Security, and Conflict · Political Conflict and Governance
The Egyptian Muslim Sisterhood between Violence, Activism and Leadership
How Insurgency Begins
Irish Nationalist Women, 1900–1918
Greed and grievance in civil war
Why Women Rebel
Female combatants, forced recruitment, and civil conflict outcomes
Insurgencies as gendered organisations
When women fight
Exploring the Microfoundations of the Gender Equality Peace Hypothesis
The endurance of women’s mobilization during “patriarchal backlash”
Women’s Wings in Rebel Organisations
High-risk feminism in El Salvador
Female Combatants and Durability of Civil War
Female Fighters and Militants During the Lebanese Civil War
Supply and Demand
Why Now? Timing Rebel Recruitment of Female Combatants
Women as Agents of Political Violence
The social origins of female combatants
We Did Not Realize about the Gender Issues. So, We Thought It Was a Good Idea
Furies’ and ‘Die‐hards
From Violence to Mobilization
How “Free” is Free Riding in Civil Wars
How State and Protester Violence Affect Protest Dynamics
Fighting for Peace? The Direct and Indirect Effects of Women’s Participation in Rebel Groups on Peace Negotiations
The Role of Women's Movements in the Implementation of Gender-Based Violence Laws
Women and Contentious Politics
Muddying the Waters
Backgrounds With Benefits? Rebel Group Origins and Concessions During Civil Wars in Africa
Civil War and Female Empowerment
Resources and the Information Problem in Rebel Recruitment
Framing the Narrative
A Turn to Violence
When Organizations Rebel
Unmasking Militants
Peace Above the Glass Ceiling
Organizations, Resistance, and Democracy
Primed for Violence
Gender Equality and Intrastate Armed Conflict
Moral Logics of Support for Nonviolent Resistance
How Does Ethnic Rebellion Start
The Social Processes of Civil War
Who Fights? The Determinants of Participation in Civil War
Death Becomes Her
Is Revolution Individually Rational
Rethinking Rationality and Rebellion
Responding to sexual violence
Reduced to Bad Sex
Women and Citizenship in Britain and Ireland in the Twentieth Century
Gender ideologies and forms of contentious mobilization in the Middle East
Women on the frontline
The gendered risks of defending rights in armed conflict
How (wo)men rebel
Women's Participation in Violent Political Organizations
Disentangling gender, peace and democratization
Organizing Rebellion
Sisters Are Doing It for Themselves
Collective Threat Framing and Mobilization in Civil War
Rational Choice and Rebellious Collective Action
The Civic Origins of Progressive Policy Change
Ethnicity, Insurgency, and Civil War
Pulled, Pushed, and Persuaded
| Citations per year | 4 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |