Perspectives on Governance by Non-State Armed Actors
Online Workshop – May 24, 2021
Scuola Normale Superiore and Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna
Deadline for proposals: April 26, 2021
We invite paper proposals for our upcoming Workshop “Perspectives on Governance by Non-State Armed Actors”, which will be held online on May 24, 2021. It is the first event of the Workshop Series "Debating Transnational Governance", organized by Scuola Normale Superiore and Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna.
The study of governance by non-state armed actors, including rebel groups, is an emerging field of research that has experienced greater scrutiny over recent years. Phenomena such as civil wars, in which insurgent groups or other armed groups might take control over swaths of territory and administer public life, have shown the limits of state-centered paradigms, thus stimulating the emergence of new approaches.
Literature on rebel governance, and on governance by armed groups broadly speaking, has been enriched by comparative analyses encompassing a number of case studies both in the same geographical area and in different regions. In particular, scholarship has highlighted the diversity underlying the concept of governance by non-state armed actors, as a variety of governance styles, patterns, and characteristics have been observed, shaped by pre-conflict as well as wartime factors. For instance, a number of works have scrutinized the relationship between rebel groups and the local civilians, focusing not only on the strategies employed by such groups to engage the populations, but also on how civilians’ response might affect rebels’ behavior and choices in governance; and on the experiences, perceptions, and agency of local actors.
This workshop aims to foster and expand current debates in the field of rebel governance and governance by armed groups. The event is open to both theoretical and empirical contributions, and it especially welcomes interdisciplinary contributions combining insights from different fields of research, as well as those connecting different levels of analysis. We welcome proposals addressing a range of aspects including, but not limited to: inter-group dynamics and governance by armed groups; relations between armed groups and civilians; women's roles and participation in rebel governance; the contested role of political ideologies; “hybrid actors” and external sponsors; consequences of rebel governance in the post-war context.
Proposals can be submitted online here until April 26, 2021. Authors of selected proposals will be contacted no later than May 2, 2021.
For any inquiries, do not hesitate to contact us at silvia.carenzi@sns.it or lydia.letsch@sns.it.
For more information: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1546bjLwN73zgGWMmylr__3yposDzb-CSfLIv2teUkd4/edit