Social origins of militias: the extraordinary rise of 鈥渙utraged citizens"

This study uses a sharp withdrawal of the state that precipitated a rise in insecurity to analyse the role of community in the rise of militias.

Abstract

The findings in this study offer a new perspective on militia emergence, emphasizing the role of social motivations and of community, and nuancing the distinction between economic and noneconomic incentives, consistent with an extensive literature using qualitative methods.

This paper is part of the Private Enterprise Development in Low-Income Countries (PEDL) programme.

Citation

Sanchez de la Sierra R and others. (2024). 鈥楽ocial origins of militias: the extraordinary rise of 鈥渙utraged citizens鈥濃�. National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper 2024

Updates to this page

Published 2 May 2025