Success of Rebel Groups in Overthrowing the Government Paper Example

Abstract

This paper studies the conditions under which rebel groups succeed in overthrowing the government. It looks at two case studies, one involving Yemen and the other involving Jordan. It also evaluates the influence that internal and external support has on the success of these rebel groups. Besides, the paper establishes the importance of good governance in nations throw showing the dire effects of bad governance, one of them involving coups.

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Introduction to the Research Topic

Good governance is an essential part that every government must fulfill to its citizen (Walter, 2015). Good governance is portrayed in many ways. One of this ways involves the imminent relationship that exists between the society and the state. Successful regime management involves citizens perceiving the governance as something that works for them, more so, regarding their interactions with the public officials. The assessments of regimes occur contextually not only through policy aggregation but also through policy implementation. Good governance is determined through the examination of how a government reacts to the vast issues that go beyond the underlying policies of the nation (Walter, 2015). A government fails its people when the citizens establish that the ruling regime is structured in ways that depict the government as not caring about their security and welfare both from an individual and a collective perspective.

When the people feel the government, does not bother or care about their collective and individual welfare and security rather it is bent on looking out for the government, then rebel groups rise in an attempt to overthrow the government. Over the years, many rebel groups have arisen in many nations. Some of these rebel groups have been successful in influencing a government overthrow while others have failed. The success or failure of these rebel groups hinges on certain conditions.

The Research Question and Its Importance

Research Question: What conditions influence the success of rebel groups in overthrowing the government?

The importance of this research question is the establishment of a theoretical core that provides insight into the reasons some rebel groups have successfully managed to overthrow the government while others have failed. Such an understanding will provide insight and understanding on reasons they need to vigilantly provide their citizens with good governance and leadership to avoid a coup in the first place. The reason behind this is that rebels overtake the government because they discern the government is not doing enough for the people despite its people given position. The government is put in place to ensure that things run smoothly in the country and that no hiccups are experienced.

Literature Review

Many scholars have explored different reasons, scenarios, and explanations behind rebel groups, coups and bad governance (Hyden, Mease & Court, 2008). Different definitions of the government have been put forth. The definition of the government resonates on both the appointed and the elected officials. These officials serve in the backbone institutions within the nation at different levels. Some of these levels include the provincial level, the city level, the county level, and the national level. Every public servant who has been appointed as part of the bureaucracy (Hyden, Mease & Court, 2008). The term government is confined to those individuals who have overall political responsibilities not only for setting policies but also for appointing key public servants. Many nations refer to them as cabinet ministers. These have executive responsibilities. These individuals are guided by rules that determine not only their behaviors but also their actions.

Notably, government officials have responsibilities for the actions and words that impact the direct and indirect development of the society. Sometimes, these officials make decisions that lack immediacy regarding responses to the demands that the citizens have. This aggrieves the citizens (Lyons & Lahai, 2016). Therefore, this result in the formation of rebel groups who desire to overtake the government and change the way things are run and decisions are made within the nation. The government does not rotate around interests' aggregations or those of preferences and values that result from various channels to the level of the executive. The implication of this is that transformative decisions, which concern choices that spread beyond certain preferences and interests, are not considered under normal circumstances. For example, the implication of this is that the government many times is forced to make necessary decisions that go against specific preferences and interests. These decisions are often viewed as good for the larger public or the interest of the nation. The disregard of other preferences and groups results in the formation of rebels in most cases.

The government is required to make such difficult choices to ensure the productivity of polity in institutions is established (Lyons & Lahai, 2016). Each country has its own rules that guide the political game. This means that each rule influences the capacity of the government, which in turn, influences the reaction of the people within the nation.

Many afflicted nations use different means to influence the outcomes of conflict. Some use foreign military interventions while others use their military interventions. The use of foreign military has consequences that either directly or indirectly affect the cohesiveness of the rebel groups. Rebel groups sometimes splinter or coalesce (Mahoney, 2017). The decision to do either depends on the type of intervention as well as its direction. Over the years, there have been numerous intrastate-armed conflicts. The establishment has been that rebel groups end up coalescing when foreign powers intervene on their behalves. However, according to Mahoney (2017), the splintering of these rebel groups is not affected by external intervention whether these external interventions the government or them.

Numerous armed conflicts that have been recorded since the Cold War ended have had specific characteristics (Hyden, Mease & Court, 2008). Some of these characteristics include the asymmetric paradigm that has actors of the state including security apparatuses and governments among others. These are often on one side of the given front while those who are non-state actors are on the other side. These include irregular armed forces as well as opposition parties among many more. Notably, the world currently experiences a resurgence of these conflicts. The evidence of these resurgences lies in the continued conflicts in nations such as Nigeria, Libya, Iraq, Syria, and South Sudan among many more. Nevertheless, one noteworthy point is that the global, regional and cross-border impactions that come from these types of conflicts have continued to increase not only in their scope but also in their complexities. The implications of these are that their dynamicity influences the stability of regions as well as their economic and strategic national interests, more so, regarding developments.

Consequently, the influence spans internationally, more so, regarding the relationships that exist among these states (Hyden, Mease & Court, 2008). Due to the continued rise in these rebel groups, both policy-makers and researchers have grown to understand the increased need to gain insight into the motivations that non-state armed rebel groups have. Besides this, the need also spans across knowing how to engage with these rebel groups as a means of not only preventing but also managing and mitigating the influence on human security as well as international peace. Additionally, the need includes preventing, managing and mitigating the reduction of the rule of law used in nations as well as regions that have been affected by the operations and the presence of these rebel groups.

Many discourses on the war on terror tend to consider many actors as threats to security. The implication of this is that they are considered as obstacles towards the realization of sustainable peace. These given assessments hamper constructive approaches seeking to engage with conflict actors. The reason behind this is that many of these actors have the potentials to collaborate up in building the nation as well as in the establishment of peaceful endeavors (Lyons & Lahai, 2016). One of the most sort out specific approach involves demilitarizing politics due to the transformation of these non-state armed rebel groups into groups that seek peaceful political institutions to be formed as a means of making settlements that will sustain peace within the nation. The process of demilitarizing politics helps in assuring the militants that not only can they protect their given interests but they can also voice their concerns and views through channels that are nonviolent. Therefore, this process helps in generating the political will not only undergo demobilization but also undergo disarmament as well as reintegration. Therefore, this allows them to gain entry into the formal channels of politics.

Nevertheless, some rebel groups decide to fight until they achieve their goals and objectives, which include overthrowing the government. The reason behind this is that they feel the government may not live up to their promises once these rebels put down their arms. Some indeed do succeed in overthrowing the government while some fail. Nevertheless, the process involves a lot of blood shedding and loss of lives among other detrimental consequences.

Theory

Many of these rebel groups have succeeded in overthrowing the government due to many reasons. One of the main reasons involves the access they have to technology. Another reason involves the access they have too many times of weapons that threaten the security of the people. The success of these rebel groups however, hinges on the continued determination they have to overthrow the government. Sometimes, external intervention to aid in overthrowing the government comes in handy. Nevertheless, the most crucial thing that determines the success or the failure of these rebel groups is the support of the people (Lyons & Lahai, 2016). Once the citizens join their hands in support of these rebel groups, the government can be easily overthrown. The reason behind this is that the government cannot push and shove the citizens to flush the members of the rebel groups since the citizens understand that the rebels are fighting for their well-being.

Hypotheses

• Does the success of rebel groups' hinge on internal intervention or support or is it influenced by external intervention or support?
• Does the success of rebel groups rely on having to bring the government to its knees through having more arms or does it depend on having peaceful political channels?
• Is the government crippled by the rebels having access to good and advanced technology or by them not having any technological input?

Data and Measures

The data that was used in this paper resonated on qualitative data from studies that have already been done. These studies were on the issues of governance and rebel groups. Some of the studies measured the opinions of the public and the effects that they had on the formation of rebel groups and others measured the real-time reasons rebel groups were formed and had success in overthrowing the government.

Analyses

Many nations have faced attempted coups and government overthrows. For instance, in Yemen, there were continued battles between the government forces and the Houthi rebels. The battle resulted in the Houthi rebels capturing the presidential palace. This particular development occurred in a standoff battle that had lasted for four months (Chandler, 2015). The battle had begun when...