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Transforming State Visions: Ideology and Ideas in Armed Groups Turned Political Parties – Introduction to Special Issue

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 January 2019

Devon E.A. Curtis  and
Gyda M. Sindre
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Abstract

How do the visions of the state articulated by armed movements during conflict change when they become political parties after war? We show that ideas about the state are often central to the strategies and direction of these new parties, but there is variation in the extent to which these ideas have changed. The first part of this article shows why a focus on former rebel parties provides valuable insights into the role of ideas in post-war politics. The second part draws on the literatures on civil wars and political parties to highlight their relevance for former rebel parties. The third part provides a framework for understanding the variation in the role of ideology in former rebel parties, by focusing on ideological content and explanations of post-war ideological continuity and change. This part also introduces the other articles in the special issue and wider collection. Finally, we discuss the effects of these ideologies when they encounter other logics of post-war politics.

Keywords

ideologypost-war politicsrebel movementspolitical partiesgovernance
Type
Articles
Information
Government and Opposition , Volume 54 , Issue 3 , June 2019 , pp. 387 - 414
Copyright
© The Author(s). Published by Government and Opposition Limited and Cambridge University Press 2019 

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Footnotes

*

Devon E.A. Curtis is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Politics and International Studies at the University of Cambridge. Contact email: dc403@cam.ac.uk.

Gyda M. Sindre is Marie Curie Fellow and Researcher in the Department of Politics and International Studies at the University of Cambridge and the Department of Comparative Politics, University of Bergen. Contact email: gms50@cam.ac.uk.

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