Vicious gift? Types of external support and child recruitment by rebel groups

ABSTRACT Existing research on child soldiering has largely neglected whether external support affects the decision of child soldiering by rebel groups. This paper shows that rebel groups’ levels of engagement in child soldiering depends on the types of support that rebel groups receive. I argue that territorial support is associated with increased child recruitment, while troop and monetary support are associated with less child soldiering. This research has crucial implications for our understanding of the relationship between rebel groups’ engagement in human rights violations and support from external actors. Furthermore, this research highlights previously overlooked roots of the use of child soldiers, so policy makers can pay more attention to these issues in the future.