Female combatants and rebel group behaviour: Evidence from Nepal

Marius Mehrl
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Marius Mehrl: 163386Geschwister Scholl Institute of Political Science, LMU Munich, Germany

Conflict Management and Peace Science, 2023, vol. 40, issue 3, 260-280

Abstract: Recent research examines when and why women join rebel groups as combatants. However, we are only beginning to understand how their presence affects rebel group behaviour and conflict dynamics more generally. I address this gap by analysing how women's participation influences two dimensions of rebel behaviour: their relationship to civilians and their fighting performance. I argue that a greater number of female rebels decreases civilian victimization, but also reduces rebel combat performance. I test these propositions using time-varying district-level data from the Nepalese civil war. The results support both expectations. These findings increase our understanding of the effects of women's participation in civil war.

Keywords: female combatants; civil war; gender and conflict; violence against civilians; military effectiveness (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:compsc:v:40:y:2023:i:3:p:260-280

DOI: 10.1177/07388942221082234

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