Description
Ethnic defection, namely the collective switching of a group from one side to another in an ethnic conflict, for example, of rebels to the government side, must be understood as a social and political rather than purely tactical move. When a group, whether a clan, tribe, family or village, decide to switch side, social identity is crucial in this decision. Recent studies grounded in social psychology have identified that in cases of rebels who defect to the government side, recruiting defectors to pro-government militias is a valuable tool for affecting their social identity and encouraging the continuation of ethnic defection. Within this process, the recruiters and commanders from among the authorities have often assumed the role of identity entrepreneurs, using militia formation to foster group identification among defectors. However, what role do community leaders, such as clan heads, village or tribal elders, or the local clergy, play in this process? This paper, further adopting ideas from social psychology, suggests that these individuals, rather than identity leaders or entrepreneurs, often play the role of identity mediators. These individuals’ power lies in their connection to the authorities and their public, which they use to mitigate and translate the ideas that recruiters wish to convey to potential defectors. The paper uses the case of Turkey and the ethnic defection of Kurds to the government-sponsored Village Guards to illustrate this argument.
