Why is rebel governance more responsive in some areas than in others? In recent years, scholars have started to examine the determinants of rebel governance. Less attention has been given to explaining variation in the responsiveness of rebel governance, that is, the degree to which rebels are soliciting and acting upon civilian preferences in their governance. This article seeks to address this gap by studying local variation in rebel responsiveness. I argue that rebel responsiveness is a function of whether local elites control clientelist networks that allow them to mobilize local citizens. Strong clientelist networks are characterized by local elite control over resources and embeddedness in local authority structures. In turn, such networks shape local elites’ capacity for mobilizing support for, or civil resistance against, the rebels, and hence their bargaining power in negotiations over rebel governance. Drawing on unique interview and archival data collected during eight months of fieldwork, as well as existing survey data, the study tests the argument through a systematic comparison of four areas held by the Forces Nouvelles in Côte d’Ivoire. The analysis indicates that the strength of local elites’ clientelist networks shapes rebel responsiveness. Moreover, it provides support for the theorized civil resistance mechanism, and shows that this mechanism is further enhanced by ethnopolitical ties between civilians and rebels. These findings speak to the burgeoning literature on rebel governance and to research on civil resistance. In addition, the results inform policy debates on how to protect civilians in civil war.

为什么叛军治理在某些领域比在其他领域反应更快？近年来，学者开始研究反叛统治的决定因素。很少注意解释反叛者治理的反应性，即反叛者在其治理中对平民偏好的征求和采取行动的程度。本文旨在通过研究叛军反应能力的局部差异来解决这一差距。我认为，反叛者的反应能力取决于当地精英是否控制允许他们动员当地公民的客户网络。强大的客户网络的特点是对资源的本地精英控制和在本地权限结构中的嵌入性。反过来，这种网络塑造了当地精英动员叛乱分子的支持或民众抵抗的能力，因此，他们在反叛治理谈判中的讨价还价能力。该研究利用在八个月的实地调查中收集到的独特访谈和档案数据以及现有的调查数据，通过对科特迪瓦新生力量所拥有的四个领域的系统比较，对这一论点进行了检验。分析表明，当地精英客户网络的力量决定了反叛者的反应能力。此外，它为理论上的公民抵抗机制提供了支持，并表明，平民与叛乱者之间的族裔政治联系进一步加强了这一机制。这些发现与新兴的反叛治理文献和民抗研究相呼应。此外，这些结果为有关如何在内战中保护平民的政策辩论提供了参考。