Insurgent and terrorist groups’ participation in politics reduces violence

Abstract

ABSTRACT Activities of insurgent and terrorist groups generally end in military defeat, victory, or negotiated settlement. However, what if there is another option beyond these three choices that could help explain strategies among modern-day insurgencies or terrorist organizations? Specifically, what if groups officially and legitimately renounced violence and joined the political process they initially fought? The fear, many would argue, is a return to violence and conflict if the members are provoked while in office. Our study specifically addresses these concerns by asking: under which conditions do insurgent and terrorist groups reduce their use of violence? We investigate this question by performing a comparative case study on a collection of groups, empirically testing the hypothesis that upon entering the political process, insurgent or terrorist groups are more likely to reduce their use of violence. Essentially, we argue that violent groups that enter the political process are more likely to reduce violence than groups that do not enter the political process.