Paper short abstract:

How do former armed militants exercise local political power after civil wars end? This paper offers a typology of ex-rebel authority that emphasizes local-level ties to civilian populations ruled during civil war, and national-level ties to post-conflict state elites.

Paper long abstract:

How do former armed militants exercise local political power after civil wars end? Building on recent advances in the study of "rebel rulers" and local goods provision by armed groups, this paper offers a typology of ex-rebel authority that emphasizes two dimensions of former militants' power: local-level ties to civilian populations ruled during civil war, and national-level ties to post-conflict state elites. Put together, these dimensions produce four unique trajectories of ex-rebel authority. These trajectories shape whether and how ex-rebels provide social goods within post-conflict communities, as well as the likely durability of ex-rebels' local authority over time. We illustrate this typology with qualitative evidence from northern Côte d'Ivoire based on extensive field research. The framework yields theoretical insights about the creation of local political orders after civil war, as well as implications for peacebuilding policies aimed at co-opting and dislodging ex-rebel actors.