How Rebel Forces Establish Governance Systems to Meet the Needs of Civilians Under Their Control

Rebel forces

Rebel forces are armed groups that have taken up arms to oppose a government or regime. Their viability depends not just on military strength, but also on their ability to establish effective governance systems that can meet the needs of civilian populations under their control. This is an essential challenge that all rebels face, but the degree to which they are able to do so may be one of the defining indicators of their success.

For example, the success of the group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in northwestern Syria, whose offensive against Assad’s forces is currently underway, is partly attributed to its sophisticated efforts to subsidize the price of food and stabilize the banking system. HTS has even established proto-governance structures in areas it has captured, and aims to expand those efforts as its assault against the Assad regime continues.

HTS is the product of a merger between the secular military units of the Free Syrian Army and the Islamist militants that were once part of Al-Qaeda’s official affiliate in Syria, Jabhat al-Nusra. Its leader, Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, renamed the group in 2017 to distance himself from Al-Qaeda’s global network, but he remains listed as a wanted terrorist by many Western governments.

The fact that many rebel forces are unrecognized by international society makes them less attractive to humanitarian agencies and relief organizations, which can have significant impacts on their ability to impose their will upon civilian populations under their control. Similarly, the ad hoc process by which states recognize or undermine rebel governance systems can have major consequences for those populations.