The effect of rebel behaviour on legitimacy under the local population

Abstract

A lot of research has been done on the strategic decisions that rebels make in conflict and governance. However, limited research has been done on how the characteristics of a rebel group impacts their legitimacy under the local population. In this research, a light will be shed on this relationship. First, the existing literature on rebel governance and legitimacy will be discussed. Four characteristics of rebel behaviour were extracted from the literature: coercion, narratives and practises, services, and institutions. The four characteristics will be used in a case study on the FARC. The main findings are that low levels of just coercion, the provision of services, and participatory institutions have a positive effect on the legitimacy of a rebel group. Narratives and practices need to be in line with those of the local population, otherwise legitimacy is hard to achieve, even by the other characteristics.