As a candidate for the Master of Arts in International Affairs, Tanya Bandula-Irwin became interested in the history of the FMLN rebel group in El Salvador. She will be presenting a paper entitled “Hybrid Governance and the Role of Rebels in Peacebuilding: The Case of El Salvador’s FMLN” during FPA Research Month.
The Question: How did a rebel group (the FMLN) transform into a legitimate governing party?
The Study: Bandula-Irwin conducted a broad survey of the literature, reviewed case studies of ground research and statements by people who lived under the FMLN, and worked closely with PhD candidate Gaëlle Rivard Piché, who conducted field work in El Salvador.
The Findings: The FMLN organized and regulated social life in the territories of El Salvador that came under its control during the civil war, by providing security in exchange for citizen loyalty. This successfully explains the transfer of FMLN’s local legitimacy at the informal level to formal governance structures at the national level. The current president of El Salvador, Salvador Sánchez Cerén, was a guerrilla leader in the FMLN.
Quote: I began this with assumptions about the FMLN and what life was like under the rebels, but I was surprised to find that civilians were enjoying a certain standard of living, with schools and a rudimentary health care system. I plan to continue my research into this for my Master’s Research Essay (MRE).
Friday, September 9, 2016 in FPA Voices, People
Share: Twitter, Facebook
