Level Of Grievance Research Articles

Counterinsurgency Tactics, Rebel Grievances, and Who Keeps Fighting

How do government counterinsurgency tactics shape the behavior of the rebels they are combating? This letter builds upon foundational theories of civil war to argue that within-conflict government actions can further increase rebels’ levels of grievances. This increases the likelihood rebels continue fighting as conflicts unfold. I test the argument using newly compiled individual-level data on over 1,700 members of the Irish Volunteers and Irish Citizen Army who participated in the 1916 Easter Rising. Rebels varied in whether they were interned after the uprising. I show that rebels who were interned were more likely to fight throughout the entire Irish War of Independence. Qualitative evidence corroborates the contention that internment increased rebels’ levels of grievances. The letter elucidates how within-conflict events shape rebel behavior, by documenting how the tactics governments employ as they fight can shape the subsequent actions of the rebels they are combating.

Economic grievances and political protest

AbstractHow do economic grievances affect citizens’ inclination to protest? Given rising levels of inequality and widespread economic hardship in the aftermath of the Great Recession, this question is crucial for political science: if adverse economic conditions depress citizens’ engagement, as many contributions have argued, then the economic crisis may well feed into a crisis of democracy. However, the existing research on the link between economic grievances and political participation remains empirically inconclusive. It is argued in this article that this is due to two distinct shortcomings, which are effectively addressed by combining the strengths of political economy and social movement theories. Based on ESS and EU‐SILC data from 2006–2012, as well as newly collected data on political protest in 28 European countries, a novel, more fine‐grained conceptualisation of objective economic grievances considerably improves our understanding of the direct link between economic grievances and protest behaviour. While structural economic disadvantage (i.e., the level of grievances) unambiguously de‐mobilises individuals, the deterioration of economic prospects (i.e., a change in grievances) instead increases political activity. Revealing these two countervailing effects provides an important clarification that helps reconcile many seemingly conflicting findings in the existing literature. Second, the article shows that the level of political mobilisation substantially moderates this direct link between individual hardship and political activity. In a strongly mobilised environment, even structural economic disadvantage is no longer an impediment to political participation. There is a strong political message in this interacting factor: if the presence of organised and visible political action is a decisive signal for citizens that conditions the micro‐level link between economic grievances and protest, then democracy itself – that is, organised collective action – can help sustain political equality and prevent the vicious circle of democratic erosion.

Economic grievances and political protest

How do economic grievances affect citizens’ inclination to protest? Given rising levels of inequality and widespread economic hardship in the aftermath of the Great Recession, this question is crucial for political science: if adverse economic conditions depress citizens’ engagement, as many contributions have argued, then the economic crisis may well feed into a crisis of democracy. However, the existing research on the link between economic grievances and political participation remains empirically inconclusive. It is argued in this article that this is due to two distinct shortcomings, which are effectively addressed by combining the strengths of political economy and social movement theories. Based on ESS and EU-SILC data from 2006–2012, as well as newly collected data on political protest in 28 European countries, a novel, more fine-grained conceptualisation of objective economic grievances considerably improves our understanding of the direct link between economic grievances and protest behaviour. While structural economic disadvantage (i.e., the level of grievances) unambiguously de-mobilises individuals, the deterioration of economic prospects (i.e., a change in grievances) instead increases political activity. Revealing these two countervailing effects provides an important clarification that helps reconcile many seemingly conflicting findings in the existing literature. Second, the article shows that the level of political mobilisation substantially moderates this direct link between individual hardship and political activity. In a strongly mobilised environment, even structural economic disadvantage is no longer an impediment to political participation. There is a strong political message in this interacting factor: if the presence of organised and visible political action is a decisive signal for citizens that conditions the micro-level link between economic grievances and protest, then democracy itself – that is, organised collective action – can help sustain political equality and prevent the vicious circle of democratic erosion.

Introduction: understanding the consequences of the Arab uprisings – starting points and divergent trajectories

This introduction sets the context for the following articles by first conceptualizing the divergent post-uprising trajectories taken by varying states: these are distinguished first by whether state capacity collapses or persists, and if it persists, whether the outcome is a hybrid regime or polyarchy. It then assesses how far starting points – the features of the regime and of the uprising – explain these pathways. Specifically, the varying levels of anti-regime mobilization, explained by factors such as levels of grievances, patterns of cleavages, and opportunity structure, determine whether rulers are quickly removed or stalemate sets in. Additionally, the ability of regime and opposition softliners to reach a transition pact greatly shapes democratic prospects. But, also important is the capacity – coercive and co-optative – of the authoritarian rulers to resist, itself a function of factors such as the balance between the patrimonial and bureaucratic features of neo-patrimonial regimes.

Economic Sanctions, Poverty, and International Terrorism: An Empirical Analysis

This study examines the impact of economic sanctions on international terrorism. It is argued that sanctions intensify economic hardships on the poor within countries and this increases their level of grievance and makes them more likely to support or engage in international terrorism. Further, economic sanctions are conceptualized as creating an opportunity for rogue leaders to manipulate aggrieved poor people to terrorize foreign entities who are demonized as engaging in a foreign encroachment on the sanctioned nation's sovereignty. A cross-sectional, time-series data analysis of 152 countries for the past three decades provides evidence that ceteris paribus, economic sanctions are positively associated with international terrorism. This finding suggests that, although the main purpose of economic sanctions is to coerce rogue countries to conform to international norms and laws, they can unintentionally produce a negative ramification and become a cause of international terrorism.

May Day Demonstrations in Five European Countries

In this article, we argue that there is an element of rituality in all political demonstrations. This rituality can be either primarily oriented toward the past and designed to consolidate the configuration of political power—hence official—or oriented towards the future and focused on challenging existing power structures—hence oppositional. We apply this conceptual framework in a comparison of May Day demonstrations in Belgium, Switzerland, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom in 2010. The demonstrations display significant differences in terms of officiality and oppositionality. Our study provides strong evidence that these differences cannot be explained solely—if at all—by stable elements of the national political opportunity structures. Instead, differences in degrees of oppositionality and officiality among May Day demonstrations should be primarily understood in terms of cultural traditions in combination with volatile factors such as the political orientation of the incumbent government and the level of grievances.

Immigrant Communities and Civil War

This paper explains why international migrants, who face numerous security and cultural threats in their host societies, are almost never implicated in civil war violence. This is quite different from situations of internal migration, which often set off violence that escalates to civil war proportions. The paper first lays out the stark contrast between the political implications of external and internal migration based on data adapted from the Minorities at Risk (MAR) dataset. It then explores the reasons for the low incidence of civil war violence for international migrants through an examination of three cases: Bahrain, which has a large expatriate community without political rights that has been politically quiescent; Estonia, where some 30 percent of the population are disaffected Russian-speakers linked to post-World War II migrations from other republics of the Soviet Union; and Pakistan, where the immigrant Muhajirs are a partial exception to the general pattern outlined in this paper. It concludes with a general statement of the relationship between immigration and rebellion, where the level of grievances is less consequential than the conditions that make insurgency pay off.

Organisational Justice: Migrant Worker Perceptions in Organisations in the United Arab Emirates

A justice framework can be used to understand how individuals within organisations respond to a varietyof human resource practices and also can be used prescriptively in designing the procedures andenactment of human resource practices. The principles of justice can be applied in order to understand theconsequences of any human resource practice. This paper examines the impact of the perception oforganisational justice on job satisfaction of unskilled workers in the city of Dubai in the United ArabEmirates (UAE). The key findings of the research revealed Dubai as having the largest proportion ofexpatriate workers globally and that these employees present a high level of grievance towards theiremployers. Major issues highlighted by the survey include pay, workload, job responsibilities, bias, andemployer injustice.

Airing Grievances Online: Search Engine Algorithms and the Fate of Minorities at Risk

ABSTRACT This paper examines the role search engine algorithms have in ethnopolitical mobilization. Offline, the news media are vital in a minority at risk (MAR) group's message dissemination. As Tarrow (1994) explains, they are a valuable “external resource.” We argue search engine algorithms perform a similar external resource function mediating what sites get reported as top-ranked search results. The paper addresses whether an association exists between the number of MAR advocacy Web sites protesting a MAR's plight within a search engines' (Google) top 30 search results and the level of grievance a MAR group experiences or the available open opportunity structures. We hypothesize and find that a MAR's grievance level—rather than the availability of open opportunity structures—is vital in explaining the role of search engines in ethnopolitical mobilization.

Gender and Migration: Geographical Mobility and the Wife's Sacrifice

Although it has become almost axiomatic in much contemporary sociology that geographical mobility for husband's career reasons is disruptive of wives' labour market careers, there have been few systematical empirical inquiries into the issue. This study reports findings from a survey of in-migrants in Aberdeen in 1986. Considerations relating to male partner's occupational career were the main factor accounting for the in-migration of married women, but single women were more likely to come for educational or employment reasons. Levels of grievance among in-migrant partnered women about the consequences of this move for their employment were low but there was some evidence that women in-migrant for such reasons saw the move as less helpful careerwise than other in-migrant women. More, however, saw the move as helpful or making no difference, rather than being a hindrance. Many respondents were able to find what they regarded as suitable new employment and others saw themselves at the time of the move primarily as mothers or housewives. The research findings lend support for the view that migrant wives' roles are orientated primarily around their husband's occupational concerns but this need not be detrimental to their own labour market activity since their skills, aptitudes and resources facilitate their adaptation to the new situation.

Mobilizing Weak Support for Social Movements: The Role of Grievance, Efficacy, and Cost

While most studies concentrate on relatively high levels of commitment to social movements, pervasive weak support has received less attention. Ballot initiatives are one of a class of tactics which translate latent support into concrete influence. Because they are “low cost” mobilizations for individual supporters, such initiatives can minimize free riding, and are ideal for exploring weak support. A social psychological analysis complementary to resource mobilization theory reveals the impact and interactions of voters' social definitions, along with background factors. Levels of grievance, cost, and efficacy, along with demographic and political variables predict support for a recent nuclear free zone campaign.

Mobilizing Weak Support for Social Movements: The Role of Grievance, Efficacy, and Cost

While most studies concentrate on relatively high levels of commitment to social movements, pervasive weak support has received less attention. Ballot initiatives are one of a class of tactics which translate latent support into concrete influence. Because they are low cost mobilizations for individual supporters, such initiatives can minimize free riding, and are ideal for exploring weak support. A social psychological analysis complementary to resource mobilization theory reveals the impact and interactions of voters' social definitions, along with background factors. Levels of grievance, cost, and efficacy, along with demographic and variables predict support for a recent nuclear free zone campaign. Social movements rise or fall not just on the deeds of organizations and activists, but also on the strength of a mass base. While most of the social movement literature concentrates on actors at relatively high levels of commitment, that is, those who contribute time or money to a social movement organization (SMO), less intense support within the constituency is more pervasive and potentially as important. This paper argues that attending to the margins of social movements, to those whose attachment to movements is weak, broadens our understanding of how movements survive and grow. Weak, widespread, or low cost support can be a key factor in the ability of groups to enter the arena, and to achieve goals within it. Movements nearly always face the problem of political capital formation. This problem has two key elements: representation and resources.

Local Political Leadership and Popular Discontent in the Ghetto

Using unique sets of data from fifteen large American cities, this paper is an examination of some of the conditions under which objective circumstances surrounding city police and ghetto retail merchants are translated into the public issues of police brutality and exploitation by retailers. The findings of the investigation are based on the relations between three levels of community social organization within cities: city leaders, the general population, and the persons in occupations which in some sense link the two. Analysis of the data indicates that grass roots grievances with police and ghetto merchants have their foundations in the actual practices of these occupational groups. For the consumer to realize that merchants are engaging in unacceptable business prac tices, city leaders must publicly raise the issue of exploitation. Claims of police brutality appear to follow a more "populist" kind of model. Although elites certainly act to mold public opinion, the level of grievances with police and the salience of the public issue of police practices stems more directly from the experiences that citizens have with local law enforcement officers. The role of the police chief is thus seen as a crucial factor in public controversy about police practices.