Doctoral Dissertation Research: Civic Participation and Insurgent Mobilization in Deeply-Divided Societies

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General SummaryNascent insurgent organizations have routinely benefitted from tapping into the membership networks of activist associations, recruiting politically aware and committed individuals to swell their ranks in relatively short order. Yet the relationship between activism and insurgent mobilization is not well understood. This project seeks to explain how insurgent movements work to undermine activists' commitment to their organizations, and why certain civic organizations are more vulnerable to rebel recruitment drives than are others. It also traces how activists who do leave peaceful forms of activism for violent rebellion might leverage personal and professional relationships with other activists and their beneficiaries to bring greater numbers of individuals into the insurgent fold, thereby transforming the resources of civic activism into the resources for violent rebellion. In so doing, this project will provide guidance to activists and policymakers wishing to protect and promote the development of civil society in deeply-divided societies at risk of, or already experiencing, violent internal conflict.Technical SummaryBased on nine months of in-depth fieldwork comparing Maoist recruitment efforts amongst ethnic organizations during Nepal's civil war (1996-2006), this research will assess a number of factors that impact activists' commitment to their organizations, and thus each organization's relative vulnerability to rebel recruitment efforts. Relying primarily on semi-structured interview and focus group testimonies with activists and beneficiaries, as well as with former insurgents, the project will examine how factors such as the scope and type of an activist organization's activities, its structure, and the material rewards of activism impacted activists' commitment to their organizations. It will also assess how insurgents chose organizations and activists to target for recruitment, and how they worked to undermine existing commitment. Finally, this research will trace how initial activist defections to the rebel group may have triggered cascades of defection through organizational networks as other activists and beneficiaries sharing ties with early defectors followed suit.