The emergence of splinter factions in intrastate conflict

ABSTRACT

Why do some rebel groups fractionalize during intrastate conflict? The focus of this article is on understanding a particular phenomenon within fragmentation during civil war: the emergence of viable splinter factions. Splinter factions are when a new rebel group emerges from an ongoing violent challenge against the state and concurrently launches their own violent campaign rather than continue to pool resources to mount a more effective fight. In this article, we outline how the organizational characteristics of the original rebel movement can create several conditions in which splinter factions will emerge. Organizational decisions regarding, mobilization, central command, and territorial control creates opportunities for aggrieved members within the coalition to strike out on their own. Support for the theory is found through statistical tests on the internal characteristics of rebel groups demonstrating the importance of rebel group structure in understanding contemporary conflict processes.

KEYWORDS:

• Insurgency
• rebel group
• fragmentation
• rebellion
• political violence

Acknowledgments

Our thanks to Luis Felipe Mantilla, Barbara Green, Jeffrey Lyons, and the anonymous reviewers for their valuable feedback.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Michael Burch

Michael Burch (Ph.D. in Political Science, University of Colorado at Boulder; M.A. in Security Policy, George Washington University) is an Assistant Professor at Eckerd College where he teaches about and researches the role of rebel and criminal actors in shaping globalization with a focus on the Middle East and Africa. Recent publications examine how rebel groups fund conflict and how the international community decides to support rebel groups during civil war.

Leslie Ochreiter

Leslie Ochreiter completed her Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Colorado at Boulder with a focus on human rights. She has since worked as a Manager Editor of Global Governance.