Political Entrepreneurs or Bandits? “Criminal” Origins of Peripheral Rebellions

• In Event: The Origins, Outcomes, and Legacies of Armed Rebellion

Abstract

This paper examines fledgling non-state armed groups in rural peripheries, presenting a logic that contrasts their initial small-scale violence with that of later phases of larger-scale violence that are more commonly studied. We argue that ambiguous, small-scale violence – often perceived as mere “criminal” violence – is useful to people contemplating anti-state rebellion because it helps overcome key obstacles to incipient rebellion. Further, we show that “bandits” – small, non-state, rural armed groups presumed to have economic motives – are common in such contexts and use similar repertoires of ambiguous violence, which creates confusion for states and an opportunity for aspiring rebels. In advancing these claims, we show why the presence or legacy of groups known as “criminals” can play a fundamental role in rebel group origins. We substantiate these arguments with 15 historical case studies that allow for unusually close examination of early armed group violence and actors’ perceptions of it. Our findings indicate a more ambivalent role for civilians in rebellion’s start than theories commonly assume, and the promise of integrating research on civil war origins, criminal violence, and state formation.

Authors

• Janet I. Lewis, George Washington University

• Stephen Rangazas, George Washington University