In many post-war contexts, former rebels pursue political careers and their advancement is part of the formation of new elites. However, while some rise to senior political positions, others have to be content with lower level positions or are even completely marginalized. The article outlines a theory of the emergence and reproduction of elite power in the social space of the post-war society to explain this variance. The central proposition is that rebel careers are mainly dependent on power resources which have been accumulated after the war and not during the conflict. Case studies of Liberia and Kosovo serve as a first plausibility probe of our thesis and explain the post-war political careers of former rebels in the two cases with the help of the theoretical conception.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
