readings

Question 1

gender and social movements

Answer 1

viterna

• factors that led El Salvadoran women to join FMLN
• there isn’t a fixed path to mobilisation
• many different factors come into play like whether they had any prior organisational involvement with the groups, biographical availability and whether they have experiences of repression

Question 2

authoritarianism and human rights

Answer 2

ottoway

• Semi-authoritarian regimes are intentionally designed by elites to retain power while appearing democratic
• they use tactics like election manipulation, restricted competition, and constitutional control
• they require structural and societal challenges to be effectively countered

Question 3

religion and politics

Answer 3

trager

• the rapid rise and fall of the Muslim brotherhood
• rose to power through a hierarchical and cohesive system
• fell due to internal issues
• its path was was shaped by its own decisions and internal dynamics not external forces

Question 4

state weakness

Answer 4

Duncan

• how non-state actors challenge the weberian notion of the state
• drug trafficking mafias in Colombia and Mexico
• They use drug capital to transform local economies and gain political influence
• As they integrate into the social fabric they reshape power dynamics and influence state decisions through corruption

Question 5

democracy

Answer 5

amartya sen

• democracy as a universal value
• It provides political freedom, ensures accountability of government and allows for the formation of societal values and priorities
• democracy is not culturall contingent (‘asian style)
• plays a protective role preventing social and economic disasters
• countries do not need to wait to democratise

Question 6

apartheid

linked to motivations to join rebel groups

Answer 6

Orkin

• argues MK fighters were motivated by deeply personal experiences like racial discrimination, economic deprivation and the violent suppression
• their actions can be explained as a logical response to a system that left them no other options

Question 7

apartheid

linked to factors in rebel movements success (kind of)

Answer 7

Berkeley

• SA security forces use of the Zulu nationalist Inkatha Freedom Party to suppress the ANC
• caused black on black violence fuelling the idea that black south africans were unfit to take power

Question 8

motivations for joining rebel movements/greed vs grievance debate

Answer 8

Arjona and Stathis

• interviewed 400 rebels in Colombia
• Motivations like ideology, grievances or material benefits are not dominant and vary significantly across individuals and groups
  Found that greed and grievance were not mutually exclusive
• many thought they’d be joining for a short period of time

Question 9

environment and the amazon

Answer 9

McCoy

• looks at the construction of Brazil’s highway through the Amazon
• it will connect isolated towns and boost development
• but it’s also accelerating environmental destruction and harming indigenous territories, facilitating lawlessness and criminal activity

Question 10

environment and activists

Answer 10

Lakhani

• looks at Berta Caceres who was murdered in her home in Honduras after years of threats and harassment
• Seven men were convicted of her murder in 2018 and President of the dam company has been charged with masterminding it
  Shows the high cost of activism in countries with entrenched corruption