Replication Data for: Resistance and Repression. How Do Rebels Respond to Civilian Self-Protection Strategies in War Zones?

Under what conditions do rebels repress civilians who challenge their rule and actions? This article provides one of the first comparisons of the effectiveness of violent and nonviolent civilian resistance in civil wars and explains how the level of disruptiveness of these self-protection mechanisms shapes rebels’ incentives to repress a community at resistance. I argue that while wartime protests and sanctuary impose costs on warring parties, these strategies enable negotiations between dissenters and combatants. In contrast, organizing a self-defense group is a burning-the-bridges strategy that makes it very costly for rebels to bargain with civilians. Using matching methods for panel data on resistance and rebel violence in Colombia (1985-2005), the study found that rates of civilians killed by insurgent groups declined in municipalities that organized protests or sanctuaries, but increased where they created self-defense groups. These results contribute new knowledge on the protection dividends of civilian resistance in internal conflicts.