TY - JOUR
T1 - Joining the counterinsurgency
T2 - explaining pro-government militia participation in the Philippines
AU - Eastin, Joshua
AU - Zech, Steven T.
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - What motivates civilians to fight in a progovernment militia? This article draws on survey and interview data from active members of Citizen Armed Forces Geographical Units (CAFGU), a progovernment militia in the Philippines, to evaluate why individuals enlist. We find poverty and unemployment to be key drivers of group membership, and the biggest attraction a steady paycheck. This situation presents a moral hazard for the Philippine government and other states that rely on impoverished citizens to wage counterinsurgency: while doing so can be cost-effective, the need to keep costs low might also impede efforts at socioeconomic or political reform.
AB - What motivates civilians to fight in a progovernment militia? This article draws on survey and interview data from active members of Citizen Armed Forces Geographical Units (CAFGU), a progovernment militia in the Philippines, to evaluate why individuals enlist. We find poverty and unemployment to be key drivers of group membership, and the biggest attraction a steady paycheck. This situation presents a moral hazard for the Philippine government and other states that rely on impoverished citizens to wage counterinsurgency: while doing so can be cost-effective, the need to keep costs low might also impede efforts at socioeconomic or political reform.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85077025003&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/1057610X.2019.1700029
DO - 10.1080/1057610X.2019.1700029
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85077025003
SN - 1057-610X
VL - 45
SP - 817
EP - 841
JO - Studies in Conflict and Terrorism
JF - Studies in Conflict and Terrorism
IS - 9
ER -
