(iPoster) Words as Weapons? Strategic Gendered Communication during Insurgencies

• In Event: Poster Sessions: Health Politics and Policy & Wartime Violence, Armed Actors, and Civilian Agency
  In Poster Session: Poster Session: Wartime Violence, Armed Actors, and Civilian Agency

Abstract

How do rebel organizations strategically communicate about women, and does gendered messaging advance their political and military objectives? Research has long explored women's participation in armed rebellion and the broader landscape of insurgent propaganda, yet the strategic logic behind gendered communication remains underexamined. This study addresses this gap by analyzing how rebel groups craft messaging about women to achieve organizational goals, adapting their framing and emotional appeals to different audiences and contexts. Drawing on an original dataset of propaganda from 120 rebel groups, I employ a multi-method computational approach that combines supervised machine learning with structural topic modeling to identify how rebels frame women and leverage emotional tone across their communications. I argue that rebel communication about women follows a strategic logic across three levels. At the organizational level, ideological commitments and resource needs shape frame selection. Leftist and nationalist movements tend toward emancipation narratives, while religious organizations emphasize traditional gender roles. At the conflict level, competitive pressures and violence intensity push rebels toward victimhood and "beautiful souls" framing to delegitimize opponents. At the international level, I examine whether global normative frameworks such as UNSCR 1325 and CEDAW create incentives for rights-based messaging among groups seeking external patronage. I also examine whether rebels tailor their communication to specific audiences. Local-language materials may use emotionally charged rhetoric to mobilize domestic constituencies, while English-language content adopts a more measured tone consistent with transnational norms. Finally, I assess whether strategic gendered communication yields material benefits, measured as territorial control and external support. By tracing the connections between message construction, strategic drivers, and organizational outcomes, this study advances our understanding of rebel propaganda as intentional, audience-sensitive political communication.

Author

• Dilruba Tas, University of Florida