Rebel Mobilization through Pandering
Insincere Leaders, Framing, and Exploitation of Popular Grievances
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6122018 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Kai M Thaler (0000-0003-0836-8689, Twitter (United States), corresponding author) |
| Year | 2022 |
| Volume | 31 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 351-380 |
| Publication date | 2022-05-27 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Security Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0963-6412 • E-ISSN: 1556-1852 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/09636412.2022.2086818 |
| OpenAlex | W4282972711 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 10 |
In civil wars, unpopular and violent rebel organizations sometimes gain support from politically motivated constituencies who should, by outside appearances, logically oppose such groups. I explain this through a logic in which self-interested, insincere rebel leaders pander to aggrieved civilian populations to mobilize them, presenting the rebel organization as empathizing with and offering solutions to popular grievances. Leaders exploit an information asymmetry about their true preferences to gain allegiance using cheap sociopolitical appeals, rather than more costly material incentives or coercion. I inductively develop the theory through a case study of Renamo in Mozambique and then probe the generalizability of the logic through case studies of the Nicaraguan Fuerza Democrática Nicaragüense and the National Patriotic Front of Liberia, drawing on interviews and archival materials. This article explicates a previously undertheorized phenomenon in the study of rebel mobilization and demonstrates how apparent popular, voluntary support for rebels can be more tenuous than it appears
Allegiance · Computer security · Exploit · Incentive · Mobilization · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Law · Political Conflict and Governance
Organizational Bricolage and Insurgent Group Effectiveness in Cities
Ethnicity
Rebel group legitimacy, ideology and durable peace
Subaltern Mobilization in the Global South
Parents of the revolution rebel leaders’ intergenerational social capital and insurgency cohesion
Making stars align
Ideological Proximity and Armed Group Competition
Networks of coercion
Recruiting Rebels
Environmental displacement and political instability
| Unique citing works | 10 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 3,33 |
| Citation span | 2023 - 2026 (4) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 10 |