Mobilizing the Masses for Genocide
American Economic Review
vol. 111,
no. 1, January 2021
(pp. 41-72)
(Complimentary)
Abstract
Do political elites use armed groups to foster civilian participation in genocidal violence? Are armed groups employed strategically? How do they mobilize civilians? I investigate these questions using data from the Rwandan Genocide. To establish causality, I exploit exogenous variation in armed groups' transport costs induced by weather fluctuations: the shortest distance of each village to the main road interacted with rainfall along the dirt tracks between main road and village. I find (i) 1 additional armed-group member resulted in 7.3 more civilian perpetrators; (ii) armed-group leaders employed their men strategically; and (iii) armed groups invoked civilians' obedience.Citation
Rogall, Thorsten. 2021. "Mobilizing the Masses for Genocide." American Economic Review, 111 (1): 41-72. DOI: 10.1257/aer.20160999Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- D72 Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
- D74 Conflict; Conflict Resolution; Alliances; Revolutions
- O17 Formal and Informal Sectors; Shadow Economy; Institutional Arrangements
- Q54 Climate; Natural Disasters and Their Management; Global Warming