Pathways to Extremes in Civil Wars: Socialization in Insurgent Radicalization

• In Event: Extremism and Violence

Abstract

How do rank-and-file insurgents come to kill civilians during civil wars? Although scholars have devised a host of theories to explain why rebel groups wield violence against noncombatants, we still have a surprisingly limited understanding of the processes driving individual combatants to participate in such violence. This is, in large measure, because existing research focuses predominantly on the higher echelons of insurgent organizations and the strategic calculations of the leadership, glossing over the experiences, motivations, and trajectories of low-ranking perpetrators. Addressing this gap, this article draws on the combatant socialization literature and outlines a theoretical framework charting a host of radicalization pathways which may lead insurgents to kill civilians. Casting the focus upon the equifinal nature of violence perpetration during civil wars, it argues that combatants can be socialized to kill by different agents, with or without the presence of radical attitudes, and through different socio-psychological mechanisms. To test these arguments, I examine a well-studied case – the RUF’s insurgency in Sierra Leone – thereby allowing me to throw into sharp relief the shortcomings of prevailing approaches and the added value of a perpetrator-centric perspective. Using a qualitative data analysis software, I parse out a broad range of micro-level evidence and find strong support for my socialization approach.

Author

• Marc-Olivier Cantin, University of Montreal