Rebel Justice during Armed Conflict

Research on rebel behavior focuses on the violent conduct of these groups. Work on rebel governance, however, has documented the myriad ways in which rebel groups seek to gain legitimacy, project strength, and govern civilian populations beyond direct violence. These efforts stress the importance of governance institutions for securing cooperation and compliance from the civilian population, a central concern for rebel groups. Judicial processes are one avenue through which this cooperation and compliance can be secured. These efforts encompass a range of processes including ad hoc trials, truth commissions and commissions of inquiry, offers of amnesty, and reparations programs. Using new data on the rebel use of judicial processes from 1946 to 2011, I examine the argument that rebel judicial processes can best be understood as a mobilization strategy by the group, offering concessions to a supportive civilian population or coercion when support is weak.