| ID | 144924 |
| Title Proper | How can weak insurgent groups grow? insights from Nepal |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Holtermann, Helge |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | How can insurgent groups that are militarily far weaker than the state survive and grow? Influential accounts drawing on Kalyvas' “control-collaboration” model argue that limited state reach can make this possible by allowing rebel groups to carve out pockets of control where they can elicit collaboration. I suggest that this account is inadequate. Even states with limited reach are likely to transfer sufficient forces to rebel-affected areas to establish at least partial control. Weak rebels therefore often face the challenge of building capacity without local control to begin with. I identify two broad factors that can make this feasible: first, strong pre-existing rebel networks, which facilitate collaboration through solidarity, norms of reciprocity, and social incentives; and second, counterinsurgency policies and practices that fail to exploit the opportunities that control offers for incentivizing collaboration and shaping political preferences. These arguments are grounded in a fieldwork-based case study of insurgency processes in a hamlet of Rolpa, Nepal. |
| `In' analytical Note | Terrorism and Political Violence Vol. 28, No.1-2; Apr-Jun 2016: p.316-337 |
| Journal Source | Terrorism and Political Violence Vol: 28 No 1-2 |
| Key Words | Insurgency ; Nepal ; Mobilization ; Collaboration ; Control ; Civil War |