Explaining Variation in Attitudes Towards Insurgents and the State: Theory and Evidence from India’s Naxalite Rebellion

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

Do perceptions of territorial control shape individual attitudes towards insurgents and the state during wartime? We argue that civilians are more likely to express support for the political actor that they perceive as being locally dominant. To test this proposition, we leverage public opinion data collected at the peak of violence during India’s Maoist (Naxal) insurgency. As perceptions of local territorial control shift from states to insurgents, individuals become more likely to express pro-insurgent attitudes. This shift is not explained by levels of violence or actual political control and can coexist with civilian participation in the state’s broader political processes.