Who Fights First: Grievances, Community and Collective Action

In this article I examine the participation of the earliest entrants in the War in Croatia (1991-1995). I address the greed/grievance debate within the con- flict literature by demonstrating that measuring grievances at the macro level misses the micro level processes involved in mobilization. Usi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Politička misao 2013-01, Vol.50 (5), p.7-28
Main Author:	Brown, Cody McClain
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	Civil war Communism Community Conflict Conflict resolution Conflicts Croatia Dissidents Domestic violence Grievances Individuals Mobilization Participation Veterans Violence War Yugoslavia
Online Access:	Get full text
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Summary:	In this article I examine the participation of the earliest entrants in the War in Croatia (1991-1995). I address the greed/grievance debate within the con- flict literature by demonstrating that measuring grievances at the macro level misses the micro level processes involved in mobilization. Using interviews with 21 Croatian war veterans, I look at who fought first, comparing the ini- tial differences between early and later participants, those who joined before June 25, 1991, and those that joined after. I argue that early joiners belonged to a bounded community of those disaffected with Yugoslavia and Commu- nism; however, these grievances alone do not explain their participation, rath- er it was an individual's inclusion in the dissident community and the so- cial relationships within that community that clarify how the first participants were mobilized. The findings show that all but one of the earliest joiners who joined through a social connection belonged to Croatia's dissident commu- nity and were from families that supported NDH. The other joiners joined by themselves after encountering violence from the fighting first hand. The ma- jority of the later joiners joined after experiencing violence as well. Two of the three who joined through a social connection were also part of the dissident community and from NDH associated families. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]
ISSN:	0032-3241 1846-8721