Rebels of the frontier: origins,organization, and recruitment of the Pakistani Taliban |
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Authors: | Shehzad H. Qazi |
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Affiliation: | 1. Institute for Social?Policy and Understanding , Washington, DC, USA shq203@nyu.edu |
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Abstract: | The Pakistani Taliban, factionalized into some 40 groups, form a decentralized insurgent movement, often characterized by infighting, divergent motivations, and a shifting web of alliances. The Pakistani Taliban remain little understood because most scholars have avoided a serious treatment of the insurgent movement and instead focused on analyzing the geopolitics of the region and Pakistan's ‘double game’. This article seeks to fill this gap by dissecting the movement through selected theories of organization and mobilization. First, I explain the various dimensions of the conflict and the origins of the insurgency. Next, I discuss the Pakistani Taliban's political organization, categorizing it as composed of various warlord regimes. I further list the Taliban's component groups and numerical strength and chart the leadership structure. Lastly, I analyze insurgent recruitment strategies, accounting for the role of selective incentives, coercion, and genuine grievances. |
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Keywords: | Pakistan Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) insurgency Pakistani Taliban Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan Muqami (local) Taliban warlord regimes |
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