Ethnic External Support and Rebel Group Splintering
What leads some rebel groups to remain cohesive, while others fragment into multiple rebel groups? A growing literature examines the causes behind fragmented non-state actors and movements. Building on this work, this article examines the relationship between a rebel group and its external supporter...
Main Author: | |
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Format: | Electronic Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
2021
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In: |
Terrorism and political violence
Year: 2021, Volume: 33, Issue: 7, Pages: 1546-1566 |
Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
Journals Online & Print: | |
Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
Keywords: |
Summary: | What leads some rebel groups to remain cohesive, while others fragment into multiple rebel groups? A growing literature examines the causes behind fragmented non-state actors and movements. Building on this work, this article examines the relationship between a rebel group and its external supporter and focuses on the extent of ethnic links between the two. It advances a novel argument for why rebel groups that receive external support from non-ethnic supporters are more likely to fragment. Using statistical analysis, I examine the relationship between ethnic and non-ethnic external support and fragmentation from 1975 to 2009. I find that an increasing percentage of co-ethnic external support is negatively associated with rebel group fragmentation. Examining variation in the relationship type that rebel groups and external supporters share provides us a fuller understanding of why some rebel groups remain cohesive and why others fragment. |
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ISSN: | 1556-1836 |
DOI: | 10.1080/09546553.2019.1636035 |