Why Rebels Stop Fighting: Organizational Decline and Desertion in Colombia's Insurgency

Author(s): Enzo Nussio, Juan E. Ugarriza
Journal Title: International Security
Publisher(s): MIT Press
Publication Year: 2021

The unauthorized exit from an armed organization, what we call “desertion,” is a highly consequential act. If caught, deserters may face drastic punishment, including execution. Why, then, do some members of armed groups nevertheless decide to stop fighting? In this article of the journal International Security, CSS' Enzo Nussio and Juan E. Ugarriza offer a new theoretical argument about the organizational dynamics associated with desertion, drawn from collective action theory.

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