Seminar

The Power of Accusations:
Civilians, Grievances and Mobilization in Civil War

Natasja Rupesinghe

European University Institute

Chairs
Juan Masullo & Andrea Ruggeri
University of Milan 

15 April 2026, h. 13:00
Seminar Room (Passione)
Department of Social and Political Sciences
Via Passione, 15 - Milan

Abstract
Research on civil war mobilization emphasizes ethnic exclusion or religious fervor but overlooks how grievances from local conflicts are activated to motivate civilians to collaborate with or resist rebels during war. Drawing on fieldwork with communities who confronted a local jihadist rebellion affiliated with the Group for Support of Islam and Muslims in Central Mali (2012–2022), this article argues that in a context where identities are ambiguous, civilians who perceive themselves to be under threat accuse their rivals of being complicit with rebels. These accusations intensify grievances by reframing existing rivals as existential threats. Civilians come to believe that if their adversaries gain access to weapons through rebel alliances, they will dominate them in ongoing rivalries and undermine their future status. To safeguard their stakes in local conflicts, civilians collaborate with rebels or organize resistance against them. The article elucidates how civilians rationalize high-risk mobilization to advance in local power struggles, which are unrelated to the ideological objectives of rebel leaders.

Bio

Natasja Rupesinghe is a Max Weber Fellow and Part-Time Assistant Professor in Qualitative Methods at the European University Institute. She is also a Fellow at the Centre on Armed Groups, based in Geneva. She obtained her DPhil in International Relations from Nuffield College, University of Oxford, in 2024. Previously, she was a PhD Fellow at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI). Her research focuses on civil war, political violence, and peace-building, with a particular interest in local dynamics of violence, civilian agency, action, and behaviour in contemporary war zones. She has conducted fieldwork in Mali, Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, and Somalia.