How Atrocities Affect Conflict Participation: Evidence From the Great Famine

• In Event: Origins and Legacies of Violence

Abstract

How do historical atrocities affect the likelihood individuals fight in defense of, and opposition to, the government perpetrator? We answer this question by studying how the 1845-1849 Great Famine in Ireland affected individuals' willingness to join the British military and Irish rebel forces. Using newly compiled data on over 150,000 Irish combatants who fought either for or against the British Empire between 1880-1922, we demonstrate that places more severely affected by the Famine were less likely to have soldiers fight for the 1880-1900s British militia and the British military in WWI. They also fought at higher rates against the British during the 1916-1922 rebellion. Consistent with grievance-based accounts, we next show that places more severely affected by the Famine voted for Sinn Fein at higher rates. Taken together, the findings challenge conventional wisdom holding that grievances make individuals equally likely to mobilize both for and against the state.

Authors

• Connor Huff, Rice University

• Soeren Jannik Henn, IPA & University of Chicago