Conflict scholars have increasingly stressed the importance of taking civilian agency seriously for understanding how conflicts operate on the ground and the social legacies they leave behind. Among the different expressions of civilian agency that this scholarship has studied, instances in which civilians refuse to collaborate with armed groups have captured particular attention. While this development is to be praised, the proliferation of neighboring terms (e.g., "voice,""autonomy,""civil action,""oppositional agency,""resilience,"and "resistance") menaces the further progression of this intellectually stimulating and policy relevant field of inquiry. In dialogue with the growing literature on civilian agency, and drawing on an established literature on concept formation, I propose civilian noncooperation as the root concept to capture these instances and specify its meaning by identifying both necessary and accompanying attributes. I discuss the advantages of this concept and assess it vis á vis alternative terms and conceptualizations. Finally, I illustrate how these conceptual foundations provide a more solid basis for empirical research by introducing a descriptive typology and a database of civilian noncooperation campaigns in the Colombian civil war. Research on noncooperation holds great potential to improving existing theories of conflict, as well as to inform crucial policy debates, including the protection of civilians, peace-building, and post-conflict reconstruction. Conceptual rigor is central to fulfilling this potential.

Refusing to Cooperate with Armed Groups Civilian Agency and Civilian Noncooperation in Armed Conflicts / J. Masullo. - In: INTERNATIONAL STUDIES REVIEW. - ISSN 1468-2486. - 23:3(2021 Sep), pp. 887-913. [10.1093/isr/viaa090]

Refusing to Cooperate with Armed Groups Civilian Agency and Civilian Noncooperation in Armed Conflicts

J. Masullo
2021

Abstract

Conflict scholars have increasingly stressed the importance of taking civilian agency seriously for understanding how conflicts operate on the ground and the social legacies they leave behind. Among the different expressions of civilian agency that this scholarship has studied, instances in which civilians refuse to collaborate with armed groups have captured particular attention. While this development is to be praised, the proliferation of neighboring terms (e.g., "voice,""autonomy,""civil action,""oppositional agency,""resilience,"and "resistance") menaces the further progression of this intellectually stimulating and policy relevant field of inquiry. In dialogue with the growing literature on civilian agency, and drawing on an established literature on concept formation, I propose civilian noncooperation as the root concept to capture these instances and specify its meaning by identifying both necessary and accompanying attributes. I discuss the advantages of this concept and assess it vis á vis alternative terms and conceptualizations. Finally, I illustrate how these conceptual foundations provide a more solid basis for empirical research by introducing a descriptive typology and a database of civilian noncooperation campaigns in the Colombian civil war. Research on noncooperation holds great potential to improving existing theories of conflict, as well as to inform crucial policy debates, including the protection of civilians, peace-building, and post-conflict reconstruction. Conceptual rigor is central to fulfilling this potential.
Les études portant sur les conflits ont de plus en plus souligné l’importance de prendre le pouvoir civil au sérieux pour comprendre la manière dont les conflits se déroulent sur le terrain et les héritages sociaux qu’ils laissent derrière eux. Parmi les différentes expressions de pouvoir civil abordées dans ces études, les cas dans lesquels les civils refusent de collaborer avec les groupes armés ont particulièrement attiré leur attention. Bien que cette évolution est à saluer, la prolifération de termes avoisinants (p. ex. « voix », « autonomie », « action civile »», « pouvoir d’opposition », « résilience » et « résistance », entre autres) menace la progression ultérieure de de domaine de recherche stimulant d’un point de vue intellectuel et pertinent d’un point de vue politique. J’amène cette littérature croissante portant sur le pouvoir civil dans le débat et je m’appuie sur une littérature établie abordant la création de ce concept pour proposer la non-coopération comme concept fondamental permettant de s’emparer de ces cas et pour spécifier sa signification en identifiant à la fois les attributs nécessaires et ceux qui l’accompagnent. J’aborde les avantages de ce concept et je l’évalue vis-à-vis des conceptualisations et termes alternatifs. Enfin, j’illustre la manière dont ces fondamentaux conceptuels offrent une base plus solide pour les recherches empiriques en introduisant une typologie descriptive ainsi qu’une base de données concernant les campagnes de non-coopération civile lors de la guerre civile colombienne. Les recherches sur la non-coopération recèlent un grand potentiel d’améliorer les théories du conflit existantes et d’éclairer les débats politiques essentiels, notamment sur la protection des civils, l’établissement de la paix, et la reconstruction post-conflit.
civilian agency; civilian noncooperation; Colombian civil war; concept formation; internal armed conflict;
Settore GSPS-02/A - Scienza politica
set-2021
9-gen-2021
https://academic.oup.com/isr/article/23/3/887/6076801
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