Ethnic groups and political influence
Ethnic groups have been seen to have less influence in less extreme cases of political deprivation, and those who represent the elite have less influence on policy at the national and regional levels without being officially discriminated against. Outright discrimination in either of the two, as well as more subtle representation denial, may irritate ethnic groups, which could result in protects as well as violence against the government (Koos, 2016).
Local support for rebel groups
Rebel groups who fight for the rights of their community frequently receive strong local support, and there are likely multiple reasons for this. The population at the local level can feel that its cause interests are best represented by the rebels. Also, following the retribution fear, some of the violence by the rebel groups against indiscriminate and noncooperation violence by forces from the government will impact cooperating with the rebel groups (Koos, 2016).
Support services from the local community
Following this, the population at the local level is likely to offer the groups that are rebelling support when it comes to labor; information, while at the same time misinforming the actors of the government; food and in most cases money. Such support services coming from the local community have been observed to be very important to the success of the rebel groups. On the other hand, government forces are likely to face issues when it comes to differentiating combatants and civilians and this is a big disadvantage to the government.
Obtaining autonomy and political rights
In general, taking into consideration the relative weakness of the most effective option of the ethnic groups that are rebelling against the government in relation to obtaining autonomy or political rights is not aimed at overthrowing the government but to wear it as well as the people in power by the use of attrition. When the government comes to the realization that the cost related to warfare are more as compared to the benefits associated with suppressing a given rebelling group, they are likely to consider granting political rights, ceasing discriminatory practices, negotiating autonomy arrangements, or offering a governmental power share (Koos, 2016).
Political representation and the effectiveness of campaigns
It is a fact that achieving political autonomy or representation will not make ordinary members from rebelling ethnic groups automatically gain from such an arrangement. Rather, the political representation of a given rebelling group will rely on the representatives’ quality and how effective their election campaigns are.
Violent rebellion as a last resort
In general, coming up with violent rebelling groups against governments is not normally the first option. The first efforts to effect change normally includes campaigns that are not violent but such campaigns tend to be crushed by governments in an effort to serve as an example to the rest of the groups thinking of rebelling that such efforts are likely to fail. After the nonviolent actions fail, the rebelling groups are left with no option to engage in violent campaigns so as to put pressure on the government for it to address their issues (Koos, 2016).
References
Koos , C., (2016). Does violence pay? The effect of ethnic rebellion on overcoming political deprivation. Conflict Management and Peace Science. 33(1): 3–24
