From Rebel Governance to Political Parties : Wartime Institutions and Post-Conflict Party Formation

Sammanfattning

Why some rebel groups transition into political parties after armed conflict, while others do not, remains an important question in research on conflict resolution and peacebuilding. While existing research has examined rebel governance during conflict and rebel-to-party transitions after conflict, these literatures have largely developed separately. This thesis examines whether rebel governance during armed conflict affects the likelihood of rebel groups transitioning into political parties after conflict. With a quantitative research design using logistic regression, the study assesses whether an association exists between wartime governance and post-conflict political transformation. The findings provide suggestive evidence that rebel groups engaging in governance during conflict are more likely to transition into political parties after conflict. The thesis contributes by linking wartime processes to post-conflict political outcomes and highlighting rebel governance as a relevant factor in understanding political transformation after civil war.