Insurgents, Rebel Governance and State-building in sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

The scholarship on rebel governance has largely focused on understanding how rebels govern during conflict. However, little is known about how rebel governance influences long-term state reconstruction after conflict. The main objective of this research is to address this gap. The research also explores governance activities of rebel groups within two main periods: during conflict, and when groups transitioned to rulers, with a focus on the provision of public goods. Without delving too deeply into a discussion on goods, as this is not the focus of the dissertation, and without discussing every type of good, although they should be observed holistically, the research instead looks at the provision of health services. The research investigates rebel group cooperation with vaccination campaigns focusing on the selected cases during the periods indicated above as an indicator of “interest in governance”.1 The analysis is based on documented empirical evidence.