The ‘Quasi-Permanent Crisis’: Understanding Collective Rebellion and Sectarian Violence in the CAR

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis paper is a critical application of Ted Gurr’s theory of political rebellion to understanding the dynamics of the long history of socio-economic and political crises in the Central African Republic (CAR). Gurr locates his explanation for political rebellion in people’s ‘shared grievances’, ‘discontentment’, and ‘group mobilisation’ within the context of repressive state actions. Gurr, however, gives no real explanation as to what kind of people engage in collective rebellion, and whether or not popular grievances touch on all the people. In light of this, this paper explores what group identity issues, and what kinds of beliefs or appeals within CAR led to collective violence in the country, particularly the Séléka rebellion (2012–2013) and the anti-Balaka counter-response. The paper further discusses why and how groups like the Séléka remain a small but cohesive organisation, willing to kill and or die for their motives. Additionally, it engages with the ‘spill-over’ effects of CAR’s crises by discussing how the official borders in the Central African Region, as with the rest of Africa, remain insignificant in the everyday life of Central Africans.