Issues in Civil Wars: Rebel Grievances and Salience

• In Event: Rebel Institutions and Interests

Abstract

While data exist on the organizational characteristics of rebel groups in civil wars, the use of one-sided violence, and the locations of armed conflict events, there is limited information about the motivations of rebel groups to engage in armed conflict in the first place. Current data projects largely focus on whether the civil war was fought over territorial or governmental incompatibilities, or issues of political exclusion or economic discrimination for ethnic or sectarian groups. Unlike research on grievances about salient issues in interstate conflict, specific data on rebel group grievances is sorely lacking. To address this gap, we are collecting data for the Issues in Civil War (ICW) data project, which will provide a comprehensive list of grievances claimed by rebel groups in civil wars from 1946-2015. In this paper, test some initial hypotheses about civil war duration, intensity, and outcomes. We test these hypotheses using recently collected data about the issues surrounding civil wars in Africa from 1946-2015.

Authors

• Krista E. Wiegand, University of Tennessee

• Eric Keels, One Earth Future