RT Article
T1 The cost of defection: the consequences of quitting Al-Shabaab
JF International journal of conflict and violence
VO 13
SP 1
OP 12
A1 Taylor, Christian
A1 Semmelrock, Tanner
A1 McDermott, Alexandra
A2 Semmelrock, Tanner
A2 McDermott, Alexandra
LA English
YR 2019
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1666364169
AB This study investigates defections from the Al-Shabaab insurgency in Somalia. Thirty-two disengaged Al-Shabaab combatants were interviewed about their motivations, grievances, needs, and challenges in relation to the recruitment, defection, and post-defection phases. This paper focuses on post-defection challenges, where we found the primary concern to be lack of personal security. Without adequate security, disengaged combatants are vulnerable to being hunted and killed by Al-Shabaab. This significant threat discourages further mass and individual defections. We also found that disengaged combatants joined and defected out of religious zeal, to fight for what they believed to be a holy Islamic cause. This same zeal led them to defect, as they came to believe Al-Shabaab was not obeying the true Islamic faith. Indiscriminate killing by Al-Shabaab disenchants its religiously pious members, creating an opportunity to encourage mass and individual defections. However, if disengaged combatants are not protected from retribution,
K1 Defection
K1 Ex-combatant
K1 Al-Shabaab
K1 Violent extremism
K1 Disarmament
K1 Demobilization and reintegration
K1 Kombattanten
K1 Entwaffnung
K1 Lossagung
DO 10.4119/UNIBI/ijcv.657