New Frontiers in Rebel Socialisation: Considering Care and Marriage

ABSTRACT Non-state armed groups confront myriad challenges, but perhaps primary among them is the issue of how to transform civilians into rebels. The study of socialisation in non-state armed groups has traced the various strategies that rebels have adopted to teach rebels what they are fighting for, their position within the organisation and what behaviour is expected of them. The effects of rebel socialisation do not only affect the dynamics of how war is fought but may also extend well-past the end of the war, influencing possessive and social networks. While early studies in this field emphasise top-down (or vertical) processes and the use of violence as a socialisation mechanism, recent studies address quotidian and horizontal socialisation. This article will discuss how our understanding of rebel socialisation processes has developed over time. I introduce a two-by-two framework to understand how the process of socialisation (horizontal or vertical) and tactics used (violent or non-violent) produce unique forms of rebel socialisation. In so doing, this paper highlights future areas of study, particularly on the relatively under-researched area of non-violent, horizontal socialisation and on vertically-ordained forms of horizontal socialisation. In this article, I reiterate the call for greater attention to ‘love and care’ in security studies and offer marriage as an important, but under-appreciated, venue for rebel socialisation as a proof of concept of how taking care as a form of socialisation seriously can improve our understanding of the dynamics of rebellion and rebel experiences.