Sobel

Sobel designates an individual who moves back and forth between the status of 'soldier' and 'rebel' depending on the opportunity to be paid by the government or to engage in looting. Such tenuous government control over soldiers reflects a lack of both political legitimacy and material resources. The phenemenon is most apparent in the war torn states of West Africa and the Great Lakes region of Central Africa.

Links

• Child Soldier

Source

• Daniel Bergner. 2003. In the Land of the Magic Soldiers. New York: Picador. Pp. 34-35.