Rebel governance: a vibrant field of research

Abstract

This literature review provides an outline of a comparatively young academic discipline, referred to as Rebel Governance. Individual avenues of research are divided and introduced, and landmark studies are reflected upon and connected with each other. This field of research has grown steadily in recent years, and its relevance is particularly evident as it becomes increasingly visible that rebel groups exercise rule beyond the nation-state with varying degrees of ambition, success, and violence, and that spaces lacking state authority are by no means ungoverned. Following an introduction on the embeddedness of Rebel Governance in International Relations and a general overview of the entire research field, the individual research strands in Rebel Governance are presented and outlined. These include political institutions and organizational structures, the regulation of commercial production, civilian life under rebel rule, social services and legitimacy enhancement, rebel diplomacy, and symbolic governance. This division and the research presented therein results in a broad overview of an increasingly important field of research that can generate explanations for phenomena that are so far insufficiently understood and can provide policy advice for interacting with rebel groups exercising governance. Simultaneously, this review also offers a wide-ranging reflection of the different spheres of Rebel Governance that have been explored so far and can thus be used to consolidate and connect insights in order to increase the accessibilityof this field of study.