Demand for Repression during the Algerian War of Independence
Demand for Repression during the Algerian War of Independence by聽Jean Lachapelle
Arts 160
ABSTRACT:
What explains patterns of state repression during civil wars? To address this question, this paper analyzes novel data on rebel attacks and security operations during Algeria鈥檚 War of Independence from France. The data were constructed from 15,000 pages of declassified intelligence documents collected from France鈥檚 national archives, providing a uniquely fine-grained picture of violence in Algeria over time and across this territory. I find that rebel attacks targeting communes with a larger concentration of Euro-Algerians, i.e., individuals of European descent born in Algeria, elicited more violent responses from the French armed forces than similar attacks that targeted predominantly indigenous Algerian communities. These differences are not well accounted for by variations in state capacity or geography. To explain these results, I develop a new theory of bottom-up demand for repression. I argue that French forces were responsive to pressures by Euro-Algerian civilians who demanded punishment of and protection from rebel attacks against their communities, and that these civilians鈥� mobilization for repression helps account for variations in coercive responses. This paper contributes to literatures on colonial rule, state repression, and conflict more broadly by unpacking the processes through which civilians shape repression by armed actors.
BIOGRAPHY:
Jean Lachapelle is an Assistant Professor at the Universit茅 de Montr茅al's Department of Political Science. His research examines the causes and consequences of state violence in authoritarian regimes. His current book project theorizes the link between repression and autocratic survival, based on in-depth fieldwork in Egypt. More broadly, he is interested in issues of military coups, revolution, and the relationship between violence and political order, with a regional focus on the Middle East and North Africa. His work has been published in PS: Political Science and Politics, Journal of Democracy, International Political Science Review, Comparative Politics, Social Science and Medicine, Democratisation, World Politics, and the Journal of Politics. He holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of Toronto.
