The politics of legitimacy of armed groups

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Non-state armed groups (NSAG) are central actors in contemporary wars. They are held responsible for violent acts against civilians and for the decay of states. In academic and public debates such groups are often just labeled as criminals or terrorists that do not strive for recognition or legitimacy. In the historical record of such groups since 1945, however, we find sufficient evidence to believe that NSAG want to acquire legitimacy in international politics and that they oftentimes achieve recognition. But hitherto, there has not been any systematic research effort to study how NSAG succeed in gaining international legitimacy. The envisaged project starts with the assumption that NSAG practice „legitimacy politics“, even if to various degrees. They strife for recognition as legitimate actors. The objective of this project is to identify, to test, and to differentiate causal mechanisms of such legitimacy politics of NSAG. Its research question is: How do NSAG legitimate themselves and what are the causal mechanisms with which they achieve recognition effects in international politics? The envisaged project is divided into three phases: in a first phase a theoretical framework shall be developed in order to specify and operationalize causal mechanisms of legitimacy politics. In a second phase, these mechanisms shall be tested through process tracing in four qualitative case studies (Angola, Western Sahara, Syria and Afghanistan). In a third phase the validity range of the causal mechanisms shall be checked against a larger sample of cases. Here, the international project partners shall contribute to the project with their own qualitative case studies. With regard to theory, this project promises advances in the political sociology of NSAG and of international relations generally. Empirically, it will enlarge our knowledge on legitimizing ideas and forms of action of NSAG. Methodically, this project builds on recent innovations in the causal mechanism studies and process tracing in social sciences. As a contribution to peace and conflict studies, it shall produce insights which can help international actors to react more precisely to the political requirements resulting from the politics of NSAG.