Hegemonic Competition in Intrastate War: The Social Construction of Insurgency and Counterinsurgency in Iraq's al-Anbar Province

Abstract

This article employs social constructivist approaches drawn from social movement theory and international relations to explain outcomes of insurgency and counterinsurgency. It argues that mobilizing civilians requires the formation of hegemonic social relations that legitimate coercive force in defense of the political community. Four social mechanisms are hypothesized to be relevant in the creation of hegemony: brokerage, diffusion, reflexive self-restraint, and self-fulfilling prophecies. This constructivist theory of hegemonic competition is then evaluated using a case study of insurgency and counterinsurgency in Iraq's al-Anbar province.