Conclusion

Abstract

This book has explored the theme of armed groups’ mobilization strategies in civil war. To specify the scope of the theory, this book first assumes civil war wherein two major parties, the government and rebels, compete for domestic popular support and recruits, and areas in which each can exclusively exert their clout over civilians. The starting point of my theory is a reexamination of the implications in current literature reflecting the association between territorial control and civilian participation in armed forces. If the area controlled by an armed group expands, the pool of available participants increases to its limit, but the group’s capacity for recruitment decreases nearer to the territorial boundary with the opponent-controlled area.