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Protest Movements during Transitions from Insurgency to Consolidated Rebel Rule: the AFPRO-Dataset

The transition from civil war to consolidated rebel rule is changing the framework conditions for protest movements. We analyse this change using the example of Afghanistan by examining protest activities before and after the Taliban takeover in August 2021. Opportunity structures for protests in formerly government-controlled areas are contrasted with those in former rebel areas in order to visualise differences and developments since 2021. Two sub-studies focus on former rebel strongholds and government strongholds in order to compare social dynamics of political transformations at the end of armed conflicts. While the interaction between rebel groups and civil society during the conflict has been well researched, we focus on the development of this relationship after the end of hostilities. Afghanistan, as a rare case of successful rebel rule, offers a particularly revealing case study for analysing the scope for action and the significance of protest in the post-war phase.

Duration: 2024-2027
Funding:  Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
Team: Dr. Tareq Sydiq, Abdullah Ammar, Malaiz Daud, Hannah Wagner.