ABSTRACT

During civil wars, some communities raise self-defense militias to protect themselves from insurgent predation, but these militias can end up mutating into predatory organizations. The extant literature has focused chiefly on the predatory propensity of state-created self-defense militias and has mostly overlooked why some community-created self-defense militias segue into predatory organizations while others eschew predation altogether. This study explains this phenomenon, drawing on in-depth interviews with active members of two community-created self-defense militias (Ahlu Sunna Waljama’a and Macawiisley) in Somalia. In doing so, two sequential mechanisms (sponsorship and mobility) that determine the propensity of predatory behavior are introduced. Self-defense militias that conduct offensive operations engage in predatory behavior, irrespective of whether they are sponsored locally or have external patrons. Externally sponsored self-defense militias that engage in offensive operations attract opportunistic recruits and become motivated by material benefits, while community-sponsored self-defense militias that conduct offensive operations instrumentalize their position to settle old scores against rival communities. By contrast, self-defense militias that restrict their operations to defensive activities typically recruit dedicated homegrown members, and are regulated by community-managed accountability mechanisms that prevent predatory and abusive behavior. This community control remains crucial for defensive self-defense militias, who must balance external patrons’ strategic aims with their local objectives.

摘要

在内战期间，一些社区组建了自卫民兵以保护自己免受叛乱分子的掠夺，但这些民兵最终可能会变异为掠夺性组织。现存的文献主要关注国家创建的自卫民兵的掠夺倾向，并且大多忽略了为什么一些社区创建的自卫民兵转入掠夺性组织，而另一些则完全避开掠夺。本研究通过对索马里两个社区创建的自卫民兵组织（Ahlu Sunna Waljama'a 和 Macawiisley）的活跃成员的深入访谈，解释了这一现象。在此过程中，有两个顺序机制（赞助和流动性）介绍了决定掠夺性行为倾向的方法。进行进攻性行动的自卫民兵从事掠夺性行为，无论他们是由当地赞助还是有外部赞助人。从事进攻性行动的外部资助的自卫民兵吸引机会主义的新兵并受到物质利益的激励，而社区资助的开展进攻性行动的自卫民兵则利用其地位与敌对社区结清旧账。相比之下，将其行动限制在防御活动的自卫民兵通常会招募专门的本土成员，并受到社区管理的问责机制的监管，以防止掠夺性和虐待行为。