Mobilising Insurgents: Ideology, Coercion and Security in the Maoist Insurgency in Nepal

Abstract

Rebellion, revolution and intra-state anned conflict appear ubiquitous in the contemporary world. Today, there is not only an expansion in the geographies of revolutions and insurgencies but also their aims and objectives have become enormously diverse. For instance, Christopher Clapham (1998, pp. 6-7) provides four different typologies of insurgencies based on their aims and objectives: "liberation insurgencies" (fought against a colonial rule), "separatist insurgencies" (fought to seek autonomy and independence), "reform insurgencies" (normally fought to change the system of government and balance of power), and "warlord insurgencies" (personality driven rebellion by warlords that normally occur as a residue of various other types of rebel movements). Despite various typologies and diversifications of civil wars and intra-state conflict, there is one commonality; they all recruit combatants.