POLI 231 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Mikhail Kalashnikov, Ak-47, Nicolas Cage
17 May 2018
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Department
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Recruitment and Civil War
Civil Wars
- Our ithi a outrys orders itrastate
- Claim at least 1000 lives within the span of one year
- Civil wars are usually driven by these divisions: ethnicity, race, religion, class, region
The Greed s Grieae Debate
- Early political science literature on civil wars emphasized grievance as a rebel motivation
- These scholars understood rebels to be motivated by grievances they had against a
government they viewed as oppressive
- This was especially true in cases where governments discriminated against segments of
their population on the basis of race, religion, or ethnicity
- After the cold war, scholars increasingly understood rebels to be motivated by greed; ie
opportunities to profit
o Case of South Africa is illustrative of those dynamics- NATO member countries
supported regime
- Rebels are motivated more by greed, profit seeking
- Are rebels motivated by ideology or by profit?
- Greed literature- argues that rebels are in it from profit argues that that was real
motivation even when it was framed in more noble ideological terms
Greed and Civil War
- Rebels might be motivated by greed because looting is easier than getting a job,
especially when employment prospects are scarce
- “oe sholars dued this the Kalashiko lifestyle- using access to weaponry as a
means to survive through robbery
- Greed matters especially when government and rebels compete for control of natural
resources
o Real economic stakes involved, actual opportunities for enrichment at level of
non-state actor
- “oe atural resoures are espeially lootale: alluial diaods, tier, oaie
- Oil is a resource that is very easy to exploit
o “truture that reel oeets at otai
o Non- lootable resources
o Even though some have done it (ISIS)
- Alluvial diamonds (found in soil or river beds) highly lootable
- Timber is highly lootable as it is easier to access
o Little territorial control
Instrument of Civil war: the AK 47
- Mikhail Kalashnikov inventor of the Soviet AK-47 assault rifle
- Global Distribution of the AK-47 (over 100m manufactured since 1949)
- AK-47 popular culture: Lord of War Nicolas Cage
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Claim at least 1000 lives within the span of one year. Civil wars are usually driven by these divisions: ethnicity, race, religion, class, region. Early political science literature on civil wars emphasized grievance as a rebel motivation. These scholars understood rebels to be motivated by grievances they had against a government they viewed as oppressive. This was especially true in cases where governments discriminated against segments of their population on the basis of race, religion, or ethnicity. After the cold war, scholars increasingly understood rebels to be motivated by greed; ie opportunities to profit: case of south africa is illustrative of those dynamics- nato member countries supported regime. Rebels are motivated more by greed, profit seeking. Greed literature- argues that rebels are in it from profit argues that that was real motivation even when it was framed in more noble ideological terms.
