Governments, Rebels, and the Use of Child Soldiers in Internal Armed Conflicts

Tynes, Robert; Early, Bryan R.

doi:10.2139/ssrn.1898229

Cited by 13 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…This finding is robust across several models specifications; adding or dropping control covariates does not affect its substance. 13 The results of our analysis are therefore the first indication that the recruitment of children might indeed increase the fighting capacity of a rebel group (e.g., Honawa 2006;Singer 2006;2010;Beber and Blattman 2013;Tynes 2011;Tynes and Early 2011).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 75%

“…300,000 children were actively involved as fighters in at least 45 conflict zones between 1988 and 2002 (see also, e.g., Achvarina and Reich 2006;Høiskar 2001). Tynes and Early (2011: 3) report a similar figure for the period between 1987 and 2007. Note, however, that other sources like the Human Security Report (2005) question this number.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 60%

“…Most variables mirror existing findings or arguments in the literature (e.g., Honawa 2006;Singer 2006;2010;Beber and Blattman 2013;Tynes 2011;Tynes and Early 2011;Dupuy 1992: 71ff;Biddle 2004: 6;Pollack 2002: 10;Stanley and Brooks 2007) and we only discuss the statistically significant items. First, next to REBEL GROUP SIZE (ln), ARMS PROCUREMENT is one of the strongest determinants.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 81%

“…These characteristics not only facilitate their recruitment, but also are likely to lead to a higher fighting capacity of the rebel group. This is especially important for armed groups without a broad membership or support base (Woods 1993;Brett, McCallin, and O'Shea 1996;Singer 2006;Wessells 2006;Tynes and Early 2011;Beber and Blattman 2013).…”

Section: Child Soldiers and Rebel Groups' Fighting Capacities: Theorementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Even before that, one of the most influential reports on children in conflict -the UN Machel Report (1996) -and the UN 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child used the definition of 18 years of age. We recognize, however, that this threshold is not without controversy (e.g., Tynes 2011;Tynes and Early 2011). 2 UNICEF (2002) estimates that ca.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

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The impact of child soldiers on rebel groups’ fighting capacities

Haer

Böhmelt

2015

Conflict Management and Peace Science

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Several rebel groups actively recruit children to serve among their ranks. While this constitutes one of the most egregious violations of children's rights, it remains unclear what impact recruited children have on the fighting capacities of these armed groups. The existing research suggests that, on the one hand, armed groups drafting children might also be militarily effective, since it is cheaper to provide for children, they are more obedient and aggressive than adults, and easily manipulable. On the other hand, children may negatively affect rebel groups' fighting capacities as they are less proficient combatants than adults and often difficult to control. We add to this debate by systematically analyzing the quantitative evidence on the impact of child soldiers on rebel groups' fighting capacities. Based on the analysis of newly compiled data on child recruitment by rebel groups between 1989 and 2010, our analyses show that children may actually increase rebel groups' fighting capacities. That said, rebels' ability to procure arms and the access to resources seem more important determinants of fighting capacity. The authors discuss these findings in light of policy implications and avenues for future research.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 75%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 60%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 81%

Section: Child Soldiers and Rebel Groups' Fighting Capacities: Theorementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

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The impact of child soldiers on rebel groups’ fighting capacities

Haer

Böhmelt

2015

Conflict Management and Peace Science

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The Logic of Child Soldiering and Coercion

Beber¹,

Blattman²

2013

Int Org

139

171

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Why do armed groups recruit large numbers of children as fighters, often coercively? The international community has tried to curb these crimes by shaming and punishing leaders who commit them—in short, making the crimes costlier. Are these policies effective and sufficient? The answer lies in more attention to the strategic interaction between rebel leaders and recruits. We adapt theories of industrial organization to rebellious groups and show how, being less able fighters, children are attractive recruits if and only if they are easier to intimidate, indoctrinate, and misinform than adults. This ease of manipulation interacts with the costliness of war crimes to influence rebel leaders' incentives to coerce children into war. We use a case study and a novel survey of former child recruits in Uganda to illustrate this argument and provide hard evidence not only that children are more easily manipulated in war, but also how—something often asserted but never demonstrated. Our theory, as well as a new “cross-rebel” data set, also support the idea that costliness matters: foreign governments, international organizations, diasporas, and local populations can discourage child recruitment by withholding resources or punishing offenders (or, conversely, encourage these crimes by failing to act). But punishing war crimes has limitations, and can only take us so far. Children's reintegration opportunities must be at least as great as adults' (something that demobilization programs sometimes fail to do). Also, indoctrination and misinformation can be directly influenced. We observe grassroots innovations in Uganda that could be models for the prevention and curbing of child soldiering and counterinsurgency generally.

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Do child soldiers influence UN Peacekeeping?

Bakaki¹,

Hinkkainen²

2016

International Peacekeeping

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Abstract:The use of child soldiers in conflicts has received increasing academic attention in recent years. This article examines post-conflict periods to see whether the use of child soldiers mobilises United Nations peacekeeping operations (UN PKO) in the aftermath of a conflict. Taking into consideration how child soldiers affect conflict and how important their reintegration is to sustainable peace and post-conflict development, we analyse whether the presence of child soldiers in a civil war increases the likelihood of the presence of a PKO. We argue that the UN deems a conflict with child soldiers as a difficult case for conflict resolution, necessitating a response from the international community. This is in line with our empirical results confirming that the use of child soldiers significantly increases the likelihood of peacekeeping.

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Governments, Rebels, and the Use of Child Soldiers in Internal Armed Conflicts

Cited by 13 publications

References 24 publications

The impact of child soldiers on rebel groups’ fighting capacities

The impact of child soldiers on rebel groups’ fighting capacities

The Logic of Child Soldiering and Coercion

Do child soldiers influence UN Peacekeeping?

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