Description
Studies that seek to explain why people become involved in armed struggle against state forces often focus on specific influential factors – such as identity, ideology, social networks, etc. – or address a variety of influences working at one particular level of analysis – e.g. individual, group, or societal-level factors. In contrast, a social-ecological framework encourages us to consider a broad range of influences across multiple levels of analysis, providing a holistic understanding of an individual’s journey. Drawing on empirical interview data from research on the loyalties of Kurdish fighters (Peshmerga) in Iraq and Iran, this paper adopts a social-ecological approach to analyse why individuals joined and what influenced their loyalties throughout their involvement. In doing so, this paper provides insight into the personal experiences of Peshmerga from three Kurdish parties: Komala (focusing on the period following the 1979 Iranian Revolution), and the KDP and PUK (prior to the 2003 Iraq War).
