Date: 2020
Type: Article
Under the roof of rebels : civilian targeting after territorial takeover in Sierra Leone
International studies quarterly, 2020, Vol. 64, No. 2, pp. 295-305
OSWALD, Christian, SAUTER, Melanie, WEBER, Sigrid, WILLIAMS, Rob, Under the roof of rebels : civilian targeting after territorial takeover in Sierra Leone, International studies quarterly, 2020, Vol. 64, No. 2, pp. 295-305
- https://hdl.handle.net/1814/66313
Retrieved from Cadmus, EUI Research Repository
Do rebels target civilians as part of the process of establishing control in their territories? This research note shows that transition periods after rebels gain territorial control are remarkably violent for civilians. Speaking to the civilian victimization and rebel governance literature, we investigate the immediate time period after rebels successfully capture and hold territory. We argue that rebels use violence to gain compliance in newly captured territories until they are able to build up local capacities and institutions for peaceful governance. To test this argument, we draw on methodological advances in integrating event data and combine multiple datasets to study patterns of violence perpetrated by the Revolutionary United Front in Sierra Leone from 1997 to 2001. The findings of our spatiotemporal analysis show that civilian targeting increases in the period after rebels capture territory from the government compared to areas without territorial takeover, suggesting that life under the roof of rebels is initially more dangerous for civilians.
Additional information:
Published: 26 February 2020
Cadmus permanent link: https://hdl.handle.net/1814/66313
Full-text via DOI: 10.1093/isq/sqaa009
ISSN: 0020-8833; 1468-2478
Publisher: Oxford University Press
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