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The legacy of war: The effect of militias on postwar repression

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  • Sabine C Carey

    (University of Mannheim, Germany)

  • Belén González

    (Leuphana University Lüneburg, Germany
    GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies)

Abstract

How do wartime legacies affect repression after the conflict ends? Irregular forces support the government in many civil wars. We argue that if this link continues after the war, respect for human rights declines. As “tried and tested†agents they are less likely to shirk when given the order to repress. Governments might also keep the militias as a “fall-back option†, which results in more repression. Analyzing data from 1981 to 2014 shows that pro-government militias that were inherited from the previous conflict are consistently associated with worse repression, but newly created ones are not. Wartime pro-government militias target a broader spectrum of the population and are linked to worse state violence. New militias usually supplement wartime ones and use violence primarily against political opponents. This study highlights the detrimental impact of war legacies.

Suggested Citation

  • Sabine C Carey & Belén González, 2021. "The legacy of war: The effect of militias on postwar repression," Conflict Management and Peace Science, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 38(3), pages 247-269, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:compsc:v:38:y:2021:i:3:p:247-269
    DOI: 10.1177/0738894219899006
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    Cited by:

    1. Koren, Ore & Mukherjee, Bumba, 2021. "Integrated Militias Can Increase the Risk of Civil War Renewal," SocArXiv ps6mn, Center for Open Science.
    2. Ore Koren & Bumba Mukherjee, 2022. "Integrated Militias Can Increase the Risk of Civil War Renewal," HiCN Working Papers 366, Households in Conflict Network.
    3. Naji Bsisu & Amanda Murdie, 2022. "Interventions and repression following civil conflict," Journal of Peace Research, Peace Research Institute Oslo, vol. 59(2), pages 213-228, March.

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