Ordinary rebels : rank-and-file militants between war and peace /

"How do non-state armed groups change when states look the other way? States rarely engage in total war with militants, even during long-running conflicts. In Ordinary Rebels, Kolby Hanson argues that these periods of state toleration do not simply change armed groups' behaviour, but funda...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Hanson, Kolby (Author)
Format: eBook
Language:English
Published: New York, NY : Oxford University Press, [2025]
Subjects:
Online Access:Connect to the full text of this electronic book
Description
Summary:"How do non-state armed groups change when states look the other way? States rarely engage in total war with militants, even during long-running conflicts. In Ordinary Rebels, Kolby Hanson argues that these periods of state toleration do not simply change armed groups' behaviour, but fundamentally transform the organisations themselves by shaping who takes up arms and which leaders they follow. First, because life is safer and easier for cadres, armed groups attract more recruits with few pre-existing commitments to leaders or their goals. Second, because toleration opens opportunities for local governance and armed lobbying, recruits and supporters flock to factions willing to coexist with the state and pursue more modest goals. This book draws on a set of innovative experimental surveys and 75 in-depth interviews tracing four armed movements over time in Northeast India and Sri Lanka. A powerful new theory of how conditions shape the trajectory of nonstate armed groups, this book reshapes our understanding of why such organizations become more moderate over time."--Publisher.
Physical Description:1 online resource : illustrations
Audience:Specialized.
Bibliography:Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN:9780197792810
0197792812
9780197792803
0197792804
9780197792797
0197792790