Leftist insurgency has been a major form of civil war since 1945. Existing research on revolution has linked leftist rebellions to authoritarianism or blocked democratization. This research overlooks the onset of leftist insurgencies in a number of democracies. This paper theorizes the roots of this distinctive form of civil war, arguing that democracy shapes how these insurgencies begin, acting as a double-edged sword that simultaneously blocks the emergence of a revolutionary coalition and triggers intra-left splits that breed radical splinters. Leftist revolts can thus emerge during “incorporation windows” that trigger disputes within a divided left over electoral co-optation. Empirically, the paper studies all cases of leftist insurgency in southern Asia since 1945, under both autocracy and democracy, as well as a set of non-onset cases. It offers a new direction for understanding varieties of revolutionary mobilization, highlighting ideology, intra-left debate, and the multi-faceted effects of democracy on conflict.
AbinalesP. N.AmorosoD. J. (2005). State and society in the Philippines. Rowman & Littlefield.
2.
AcemogluD.RobinsonJ. (2006). Economic origins of dictatorship and democracy. Cambridge University Press.
3.
AdhikariA. (2014). The bullet and the ballot box: The story of Nepal’s Maoist Revolution. Verso.
4.
AlbertusM. (2015). Autocracy and redistribution: The politics of land reform (1st ed.). Cambridge University Press.
5.
AlbertusM.MenaldoV. (2017). Authoritarianism and the elite origins of democracy. Cambridge University Press.
6.
AliK. A. (2011). Communists in a Muslim land: Cultural debates in Pakistan’s early years. Modern Asian Studies, 45(3), 501–534.
7.
AllesA. C. (1976). Insurgency, 1971: An account of the april insurrection in Sri Lanka. Trade Exchange.
8.
AminN. (1985). The pro-chinese communist movement in Bangladesh. Journal of Contemporary Asia, 15(3), 349–360.
9.
AminN. (1986). Maoism in Bangladesh: The case of the East Bengal Sarbohara Party. Asian Survey, 26(7), 759–773.
10.
BalcellsL.KalyvasS. (2015). Revolutionary rebels and the Marxist paradox. Georgetown University and Oxford University.
11.
BandyopadhyayS. (2008). The story of an aborted revolution: Communist insurgency in post-independence West Bengal, 1948–50. Journal of South Asian Development, 3(1), 1–32.
12.
BoixC. (2003). Democracy and redistribution. Cambridge University Press.
13.
BoixC. (2008). Economic roots of civil wars and revolutions in the contemporary world. World Politics, 60(3), 390–437.
14.
BoixC.MillerM.RosatoS. (2013). A complete data set of political regimes, 1800–2007. Comparative Political Studies, 46(12), 1523–1554.
15.
BradyH. E.CollierD. (Eds.). (2010). Rethinking social inquiry: Diverse tools, shared standards (2nd ed.). Rowman & Littlefield.
16.
BrownN. J. (2012). When victory is not an option: Islamist movements in Arab politics. Cornell University Press.
17.
CallahanM. P. (2003). Making enemies: War and state building in Burma. Cornell University Press.
18.
CedermanL. E.WimmerA.MinB. (2010). Why do ethnic groups rebel? New data and analysis. World Politics62(1), 87–119.
19.
ChandraK.García-PonceO. (2019). Why ethnic subaltern-led parties crowd out armed organizations: Explaining maoist violence in India. World Politics, 71(2), 367–416.
20.
ChandrapremaC. A. (1991). Sri Lanka, the years of terror: The J.V.P. insurrection, 1987-1989 (1st ed.). Lake House Bookshop.
21.
ChibberV. (2003). Locked in place: State-building and late industrialization in India. Princeton University Press.
22.
CostalliS.RuggeriA. (2015). Indignation, ideologies, and armed mobilization: Civil war in Italy, 1943–45. International Security, 40(2), 119–157.
23.
CunninghamK. G. (2014). Inside the politics of self-determination. Oxford University Press.
24.
DalyS. Z. (2014). The dark side of power-sharing: Middle managers and civil war recurrence. Comparative Politics, 46(3), 333–353.
25.
Della PortaD. (1995). Social Movements, political violence, and the state: A comparative analysis of Italy and Germany. Cambridge University Press.
26.
FearonJ. D.LaitinD. D. (2003). Ethnicity, insurgency, and civil war. The American Political Science Review, 97(1), 75–90.
27.
FinkelEvgeny (2017). Ordinary Jews: Choice and Survival during the Holocaust. Princeton University Press.
28.
FinkelE.GehlbachS. (2020). Reform and rebellion in weak states. Cambridge University Press.
29.
FrandaM. F. (1970). Communism and Regional Politics in East Pakistan. Asian Survey, 10(7), 588–606.
30.
FrandaM. F. (1971). Radical politics in West Bengal (1st ed.). The MIT Press.
31.
FullerK. (2011). A movement divided: Philippine communism, 1957-1986. University of the Philippines Press.
32.
GeddesB.WrightJ.FrantzE. (2014). Autocratic breakdown and regime transitions: A new data set. Perspectives on Politics, 12(2), 313–331.
33.
GeorgeA. L.BennettA. (2005). Case studies and theory development in the social sciences. MIT Press.
34.
GoodwinJ. (2001). No other way out: States and revolutionary movements, 1945-1991. Cambridge University Press.
35.
GoodwinJ.SkocpolT. (1989). Explaining revolutions in the contemporary third world. Politics & Society, 17(4), 489–509.
36.
GreenA. H. (2018). The commander’s dilemma: Violence and restraint in wartime. Cornell University Press.
37.
GunaratnaR. (1990). Sri Lanka, a lost revolution? The inside story of the JVP. Institute of Fundamental Studies.
38.
HaggardS.KaufmanR. R. (2012). Inequality and regime change: Democratic transitions and the stability of democratic rule. American Political Science Review, 106(3), 495–516.
39.
HegreH.EllingsenT.GatesS.GleditschN. P. (2001). Toward a democratic civil peace? Democracy, political change, and civil war, 1816-1992. The American Political Science Review, 95(1), 33–48.
40.
HorowitzD. L. (1985). Ethnic groups in conflict. University of California Press.
41.
HuntingtonS. P. (1968). Political order in changing societies. Yale University Press.
JaffrelotC. (2015). The Pakistan paradox: Instability and resilience. Oxford University Press.
44.
JahanR. (1974). Bangladesh in 1973: Management of factional politics. Asian Survey, 14(2), 125–135.
45.
JhaP. (2015). Battles of the New Republic: A contemporary history of Nepal (1st ed.). Hurst.
46.
JonesG. R. (1989). Red revolution: Inside the Philippine guerrilla movement. Westview Press.
47.
JonesZ. M.LupuY. (2018). Is there more violence in the middle?American Journal of Political Science, 62(3), 652–667.
48.
KalyvasS. (2015). Is ISIS a revolutionary group and if yes, what are the implications?Perspectives on Terrorism, 9(4), 42–47.
49.
KalyvasS. N. (2006). The logic of violence in civil war. Cambridge University Press.
50.
KalyvasS. N.BalcellsL. (2010). International system and technologies of rebellion: How the end of the cold war shaped internal conflict. American Political Science Review, 104(3), 415–429.
51.
KalyvasS. N. (2019). The landscape of political violence. In ChenowethE.EnglishR.GofasA.KalyvasS. N. (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Terrorism. Oxford University Press.
52.
KennedyJ.PurushothamS. (2012). Beyond naxalbari: A comparative analysis of maoist insurgency and counterinsurgency in independent India. Comparative Studies in Society and History, 54(4), 832–862.
53.
KerkvlietB. J. (1977). The Huk rebellion: A study of peasant revolt in the Philippines. University of California Press.
54.
KingG.KeohaneR. O.VerbaS. (1994). Designing social inquiry: Scientific inference in qualitative research. Princeton University Press.
55.
KohliA. (1990). Democracy and discontent: India’s growing crisis of governability. Cambridge University Press.
56.
KrauseP. (2017). Rebel power: Why national movements compete, fight, and win. Cornell University Press.
57.
KyddA.WalterB. F. (2002). Sabotaging the peace: The politics of extremist violence. International Organization, 56(2), 263–96.
58.
LintnerB. (1990). The rise and fall of the Communist Party of Burma (CPB). SEAP Publications.
59.
LintnerB. (1999). Burma in revolt: Opium and insurgency since 1948. (2nd ed.). Silkworm Books.
60.
Leader MaynardJ. (2019). Ideology and armed conflict. Journal of Peace Research, 56(5), 635–649.
61.
LüthiL. M. (2008). The sino-soviet split: Cold war in the communist world. Princeton University Press.
62.
McAdamsA. J. (2017). Vanguard of the revolution: The global idea of the communist party. Princeton University Press.
63.
MahoneyJ. (2010). After KKV: The new methodology of qualitative research. World Politics, 62(1), 120–147.
64.
ManiruzzamanT. (1975). Bangladesh: An unfinished revolution?The Journal of Asian Studies, 34(4), 891–911.
65.
ManiruzzamanT. (1980). The Bangladesh revolution and its aftermath. Bangladesh Books International.
66.
MasoomA. L. (2000). Dilemmas of a military ruler: A political study of the Zia Regime. Afsar Brothers.
67.
MohaiemenN. (2006). Kothai Aj Shei Shiraj Sikder (Where Today Is That Shiraj Sikder)? Terrorists or Guerrillas in the Mist. Sarai Reader, 6, 296–311.
68.
MooreB. (1966). Social origins of dictatorship and democracy: Lord and peasant in the making of the modern world. Beacon Press.
69.
MotenA. R. (1980). Party politics in Bangladesh: The parliamentary era. Journal of South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, 3(4), 66–83.
70.
PaigeJ. M. (1975). Agrarian revolution: Social movements and export agriculture in the underdeveloped world. Free Press.
71.
PearlmanW. (2008). Spoiling inside and out: Internal political contestation and the Middle East peace process. International Security, 33(3), 79–109.
72.
PoliczerP. (2009). Rise and fall of repression in chile. University of Notre Dame Press.
73.
RiazA. (2016). Bangladesh: A political history since independence. I.B. Tarius & Co. Ltd.
74.
RobinsonG. B. (2018). The killing season: A history of the Indonesian Massacres, 1965-66. Princeton University Press.
75.
RonJ. (2001). Ideology in context: Explaining Sendero Luminoso’s tactical escalation. Journal of Peace Research, 38(5), 569–592.
76.
SambanisN. (2001). Do ethnic and nonethnic civil wars have the same causes? A theoretical and empirical inquiry (Part 1). Journal of Conflict Resolution, 45(3), 259–282.
77.
SanínF. G.WoodE. J. (2014). Ideology in civil war: Instrumental adoption and beyond. Journal of Peace Research, 51(2), 213–226.
78.
ScottJ. C. (1976). The moral economy of the peasant: Rebellion and subsistence in Southeast Asia. Yale University Press.
79.
ScottJ. C. (1979). Revolution in the revolution: Peasants and commissars. Theory and Society, 7(1–2), 97–134.
80.
SelznickP. (1952). The organizational weapon: A study of bolshevik strategy and tactics. (1st ed.). McGraw-Hill.
81.
ShefterM. (1994). Political parties and the State: The American historical experience. Princeton Studies in American Politics. Princeton University Press.
82.
SilversteinJ. (1990). Civil war and rebellion in Burma. Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, 21(1), 114–134.
83.
SkocpolT. (1979). States and social revolutions: A comparative analysis of France, Russia, and China. Cambridge University Press.
84.
SkocpolT.MigdalJ. S.PaigeJ. M.ScottJ. C.WolfE. R. (1982). What makes peasants revolutionary?Comparative Politics, 14(3), 351–375.
85.
SlaterD. (2010). Ordering power: Contentious politics and authoritarian leviathans in Southeast Asia. Cambridge University Press.
86.
SlaterD.SmithB.NairG. (2014). Economic origins of democratic breakdown? The redistributive model and the postcolonial state. Perspectives on Politics, 12(2), 353–374.
87.
SmithM. J. (1991). Burma: Insurgency and the politics of ethnicity. Zed Books.
88.
SmithM. J. (1999). Burma: Insurgency and the politics of ethnicity (2nd ed.). Zed Books.
89.
SnyderJ. L. (2000). From voting to violence: Democratization and nationalist conflict. W. W. Norton & Company.
90.
StanilandP. (2014). Networks of rebellion: Explaining insurgent cohesion and collapse (1st ed.). Cornell University Press.
91.
StanilandP. (2015). Militias, ideology, and the state. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 59(5), 770–793.
92.
StedmanS. J. (1997). Spoiler problems in peace processes. International Security, 22(2), 5–53.
93.
StewartM. (2020). Micro-foundations of the vanguard: The origins of revolutionary leftist rebel groups (Working paper). American University.
94.
StrausS. (2015). Making and unmaking nations: War, leadership, and genocide in modern Africa. Cornell University Press.
95.
Stuart-FoxM. (1997). A history of Laos. Cambridge University Press.
96.
SvolikM. W. (2012). The politics of authoritarian rule. Cambridge University Press.
97.
ThurberC. (2015). Between Mao and Gandhi: Strategies of violence and nonviolence in revolutionary movements (PhD dissertation). Tufts University.
98.
VreelandJ. R. (2008). The effect of political regime on civil war: Unpacking anocracy. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 52(3), 401–425.
99.
Wickham-CrowleyT. P. (1992). Guerrillas and revolution in Latin America: A comparative study of insurgents and regimes since 1956. Princeton University Press.
100.
WolfE. R. (1969). Peasant wars of the twentieth century. Harper & Row.
101.
WoodE. J. (2000). Forging democracy from below: Insurgent transitions in South Africa and El Salvador. Cambridge Studies in Comparative Politics, Cambridge University Press.
102.
WoodE. J. (2001). An insurgent path to democracy popular mobilization, economic interests, and regime transition in South Africa and El Salvador. Comparative Political Studies, 34(8), 862–888.
103.
WoodR. MThomasJ. L. (2017). Women on the frontline: Rebel group ideology and women’s participation in violent rebellion. Journal of Peace Research, 54(1), 31–46.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
