Much of the recent literature on rebel governance and violent political orders works with ‘centred’ and instrumental understandings of power. In this view, power is seen as exercised over subjects, and as situated in rebel rulers, governance institutions, or ruling networks. Drawing on the study of the armed groups known as ‘Mai-Mai’ in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, this article instead adopts a governmentality perspective on rebel governance. It demonstrates how Mai-Mai groups rule not only through direct imposition but also, more subtly, by shaping people’s subjectivities and self-conduct. We identify four clusters of techniques of Mai-Mai rule that relate respectively to ethnicity and custom; spirituality; ‘stateness’; and patronage and protection. We argue that a governmentality perspective, with its focus on rationalities and practices of power, offers a fine-grained understanding of rebel rule that moves beyond common binaries such as coercion versus freedom. By showing its relevance for the analysis of rebel rule in the eastern Congo, our findings further strengthen the case for applying a governmentality perspective to non-Western political orders

中文翻译：

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反叛统治：政府视角

最近关于反叛治理和暴力政治秩序的许多文献都与对权力的“中心化”和工具性理解有关。在这种观点中，权力被视为对臣民行使，并位于反叛统治者、治理机构或统治网络中。本文借鉴对刚果民主共和国东部被称为“Mai-Mai”的武装团体的研究，转而采用政府主义视角来看待叛军治理。它展示了玛伊-玛伊群体如何不仅通过直接强加而且更巧妙地通过塑造人们的主观性和自我行为来进行统治。我们确定了四组分别与种族和习俗相关的 Mai-Mai 规则技术；灵性；'状态'; 以及赞助和保护。我们认为，从治理的角度来看，它专注于权力的理性和实践，提供了对反叛统治的细致理解，超越了强制与自由等常见的二元对立。通过显示其与刚果东部反叛统治分析的相关性，我们的研究结果进一步加强了将治理视角应用于非西方政治秩序的理由