Recruiting Rebels: Introducing the Rebel Appeals and Incentives Dataset

Soules, Michael J.

doi:10.1177/00220027231154813

Cited by 6 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 79 publications

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“…The fourth set of variables comes from the rebel appeals and incentives data set assembled by Soules (2023). This data set rates and aggregates various aspects of rebel groups' ideology with an emphasis on types of appeals.…”

Section: Measurement Of Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The way groups use ideological appeals to recruit and mobilize support complements the way material resources are used in delivering services. These appeals may include invoking underlying grievances against the incumbent regime, highlighting the oppressive nature of the government’s policies, using claims that underscore the pervasiveness and injustice of extractive practices and depriving populations of resources and opportunities in a given system (Weinstein, 2005; Humphreys and Weinstein, 2008; Thaler, 2022; Soules, 2023). However, it may also be the case that these appeals are insufficient to attract the hoped-for support.…”

Section: Ideological Appeals and Durable Peacementioning

confidence: 99%

“…A group may make several types of appeals to potential recruits. However, no relative weighting has been assigned to the different types of appeals for different groups. We also adapted a measure of rebel group viability in Soules (2023) data set. It is based on the number of years of rebel group existence after the peace agreement.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Two variables in the Soules (2023) data set measure the extent to which rebel groups rely on ideological appeals relative to material incentives for their persuasive recruitment tactics. Higher values correspond to greater reliance on ideological appeals.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…We also adapted a measure of rebel group viability in Soules (2023) data set. It is based on the number of years of rebel group existence after the peace agreement.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Rebel group legitimacy, ideology and durable peace

Druckman,

Vuković,

Verbeek

2023

IJCMA

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Purpose This study aims to explore the role of rebel group legitimacy and ideology in durable peace (DP) following peace agreements to end civil wars. It builds on earlier research showing that justice and civil society involvement are critical in achieving DP. This study adds the impacts of rebel group activities and support on DP. Activities include service delivery and mobilization. Support is gauged with outcomes of presidential and parliamentary elections held following peace agreements. Design/methodology/approach Five data sets were used to measure the key variables: DP, inclusive commissions (IC), legitimacy symmetry (electoral outcomes), service delivery and ideological mobilization. A measure of rebel group integration in the political system was also constructed. Impacts of the integration, legitimacy and ideology variables were assessed with a hierarchical regression model (HRM). This study begins with a base model drawn from earlier research showing the key predictors were procedural justice (PJ) and IC. The authors ask about the extent to which the rebel group variables contribute additional variance to the prediction of DP. Findings The main contributors to the prediction of DP were PJ, IC and integration in the political system. None of the legitimacy or mobilization variables added significant variance to the prediction. Only one of the mobilization variables, forced recruitment, was significant. The decision to integrate into the political system following the agreement did not mediate the relationship between PJ in the negotiation process and DP. Results of a factor analysis showed that DP, PJ, IC and integration formed a cluster with strong loadings on the first factor. Research limitations/implications The negative results for the legitimacy and mobilization variables may not be the last word on rebel group influences. Lack of support for the key hypotheses spurs attempts to discover other sources that contribute to the survival of rebel group actors in the political system and, in turn, to DP. Practical implications The issues raised by this study contribute to debates about ways to attain peaceful relations among competing groups following a civil war. It appears that attention to factors inside and around the negotiation process (PJ, ICs and conversion) may be more important than rebel group activities outside of these processes. The results call attention, in particular, to the important role played by political integration. From a policy perspective, it would be useful to develop levers for encouraging rebel groups to emerge as political actors in the post-agreement environment. Originality/value Developing measures of the symmetry of rebel group legitimacy and integration in the context of a comparative case study are the primary original contributions of this study. Furthermore, the mode of analysis (HRM) is novel in this literature. This approach builds on and extends the earlier research on factors influencing DP.

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Section: Measurement Of Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Ideological Appeals and Durable Peacementioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We also adapted a measure of rebel group viability in Soules (2023) data set. It is based on the number of years of rebel group existence after the peace agreement.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Rebel group legitimacy, ideology and durable peace

Druckman,

Vuković,

Verbeek

2023

IJCMA

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How wartime recruitment affects political engagement among civilians: Evidence from Côte d’Ivoire

Martin

2025

World Development

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Environmental displacement and political instability: Evidence from Africa

Chesler

2024

Journal of Peace Research

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Does environmental displacement provoke political instability? Though migration has long been considered an intermediary in the causal path between environmental change and political upheaval, the relationship remains theoretically underdeveloped and evidence has been limited. This article examines the impact of displacement caused by sudden-onset natural hazards on disruptive antigovernment events including armed conflict, protests and violent riots. It leverages the new Environmental Displacement Dataset (EnDis), an original dataset that identifies quantities of human movement in response to six types of sudden-onset natural hazards in Africa from 1990 to 2017, including floods, storms, wildfires, landslides, earthquakes and volcanic activity. The results of the analyses show that while environmental displacement is not associated with civil war onset or protests, it does increase the incidence of attacks by armed non-state actors and violent riots. Importantly, these destabilizing effects occurr primarily (1) in the context of displacement driven by floods and storms, and (2) when levels of displacement are well above average. Collectively, these findings portend deepening security crises and violent political upheaval as climate change drives more frequent episodes of extreme weather and excessive environmental displacement.

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Recruiting Rebels: Introducing the Rebel Appeals and Incentives Dataset

Cited by 6 publications

References 79 publications

Rebel group legitimacy, ideology and durable peace

Rebel group legitimacy, ideology and durable peace

How wartime recruitment affects political engagement among civilians: Evidence from Côte d’Ivoire

Environmental displacement and political instability: Evidence from Africa

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