| ID | 198622 |
| Title Proper | From Politicization to Vigilance |
| Other Title Information | The Post-war Legacies of Wartime Victimization |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Liu, Shelley X. |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | Following regime change, how does wartime victimization shape political attitudes and participation in the long run? I argue that it increases post-war political vigilance: greater sensitivity to illiberal politics and poor governance, but with dampened effects on participation under authoritarianism due to greater fear of harm. I examine Protected Villages (PVs) in the Zimbabwe Liberation War (1972–1979). PVs, a Rhodesian counterinsurgency strategy, was a large-scale and violent resettlement program that intensified politics’ role in civilian lives. I map PV-affected areas within pre-war and current-day administrative divisions, and estimate a difference-in-discontinuities regression to identify PVs’ long-run effects. PV-affected areas report greater sensitivity to the country’s illiberal politics and are more critical of poor government performance today. Contrary to existing literature however, I find no evidence of increased political participation and pro-social behavior in the long run, nor hardened support for the ruling party—whom these areas had once supported during war. |
| `In' analytical Note | Journal of Conflict Resolution Vol. 69, No.5; May 2025: p.868 - 897 |
| Journal Source | Journal of Conflict Resolution 2025-05 69, 5 |
| Key Words | Political Participation ; Civilian Victimization ; Rebel Victory ; legacies of conflict ; forced resettlement ; political vigilance |