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Armed Groups, Child Soldiers and the Pursuit of Legitimacy

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Armed Groups, Child Soldiers and the Pursuit of Legitimacy Armed Groups, Child Soldiers and the Pursuit of Legitimacy by William Plowright B.A., The University of British Columbia, 2010 M.Sc., London School of Economics, 2011 A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE AND POSTDOCTORAL STUDIES (Political Science) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) July, 2018 © William Plowright, 2018 The following individuals certify that they have read, and recommend to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies for acceptance, the dissertation entitled: Armed Groups, Child Soldiers and the Pursuit of Legitimacy submitted by William Plowright in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science Examining Committee: Dick Price, Political Science Supervisor Arjun Chowdhury, Political Science Supervisory Committee Member Katharina Coleman, Political Science Supervisory Committee Member Philippe Le Billon, Geography University Examiner Brian Job, Political Science University Examiner ii Abstract In armed conflicts around the world, armed groups recruit child soldiers into their organisations to fill a wide range of roles. In response, transnational advocacy networks have been mobilised to name-and- shame such armed groups and seek an end to this humanitarian concern through asserting the norm against the use of child soldiers. Some armed groups respond to this advocacy, and demobilise their child soldiers, while others ignore international pressure. There is a puzzle here: why do some armed groups demobilize child soldiers, while others do not? What makes armed groups more or less responsive to advocacy? I argue that some armed groups are engaging with the child soldiers norm in order to gain legitimacy from international audiences. Evidence shows that the armed groups that do this are those who have a large domestic support base but are losing their armed struggle. Armed groups do not engage with the norm if they are winning their struggle, or if they are losing and do not have a large domestic support base. In order to demonstrate this theory, I present evidence from qualitative interview-based research conducted in Syria and Myanmar in 2012 and 2013. I show that in these two dramatically different conflicts, armed groups follow the same forms of behaviour. In both cases, it is only when groups are losing but have support, that they will dialogue with transnational advocacy networks in order to engage with the child soldiers norm and acquire international legitimacy. iii Lay Summary In conflicts around the world, armed groups are recruiting children to wage war. This is a matter of great concern, and many advocacy groups have tried to pressure armed groups to cease using children as soldiers. Some armed groups respond and demobilize their child soldiers, while others ignore the pressure and continue. Why is this? I argue that some armed groups are responding to pressure and demobilizing their child soldiers because they wish to appear legitimate to international audiences. Put simply; they care what the outside world thinks and are prepared to prove it. I conducted interviews with 12 armed groups in Syria and Myanmar. In both contexts, armed groups respond to international pressure when they meet two conditions: that they are losing their fight, and that they have a large domestic support base. Groups that are winning, and groups with no local support, will continue to ignore international pressure. iv Preface This dissertation is original, unpublished, independent work by the author, William Plowright. The fieldwork reported in Chapters 3-4 were covered by UBC Ethics Certificate numbers H12-01366 and H14-02240. v Table of Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................................................ iii Lay Summary ................................................................................................................................................ iv Preface .......................................................................................................................................................... v Table of Contents ......................................................................................................................................... vi List of Tables .............................................................................................................................................. viii List of Figures ............................................................................................................................................... ix Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................................................... x Dedication .................................................................................................................................................... xi Chapter #1: Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 - The Puzzle ......................................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 The Theory & Hypotheses ................................................................................................................... 3 1.3 The Methodology .............................................................................................................................. 14 1.4 The Ethics .......................................................................................................................................... 21 1.5 The Road Ahead ................................................................................................................................ 26 Chapter #2: Armed Groups and Child Soldiers ............................................................................................ 27 2.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 27 2.2 Traversing the Definitional Terrain ................................................................................................... 28 2.3 The Common Wisdom ...................................................................................................................... 38 2.4 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................... 57 Chapter #3: Myanmar ................................................................................................................................. 58 3.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 58 3.2 Cases ................................................................................................................................................. 60 3.3 The Myanmar Conflict ....................................................................................................................... 63 3.4 Karen National Liberation Army ....................................................................................................... 72 3.5 Karenni Army .................................................................................................................................... 78 3.6 Mon National Liberation Army ......................................................................................................... 82 3.7 United Wa State Army ...................................................................................................................... 85 3.8 All Burma Students Democratic Front .............................................................................................. 88 3.9 Pa-O National Liberation Army ......................................................................................................... 90 3.10 Summary ......................................................................................................................................... 93 Chapter #4: Syria ......................................................................................................................................... 97 vi 4.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 97 4.2 Cases ............................................................................................................................................... 100 4.3 The Syrian Conflict .......................................................................................................................... 103 4.4 The Free Syrian Army ...................................................................................................................... 113 4.5 Syrian Islamic Liberation Front........................................................................................................ 120 4.6 Shabeeha ......................................................................................................................................... 122 4.7 Hezbollah ........................................................................................................................................ 125 4.8 Jabhat
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