Left-Wing Extremist Violence : A Comparative Study of Maoist Rebellion in Nepal and India

Left-wing extremist movements in the form of Maoist rebellion in Nepal and India, though guided by same motivation and goal of revolutionary change have differed extensively in political outcomes. Why does a similar political movement give rise to different outcomes? It has been largely traced to historical, cultural and institutional variance. However, embedded within the macro-processes are strategic interactions between individuals as rational decision-making units that channels the movement in particular direction. In this paper, I argue that the sequence of interactions between the rebels and the state is important in understanding the differing outcomes of this violent political movement. The division of the Maoist rebellion in India (particularly West Bengal) and Nepal by the Nepal-India border provides an ideal ground to conduct a natural experiment for comparing the dynamics of an identical left-wing movement in different settings. Through comparative case studies, this paper examines the link between repression and dissent and locates it within the spiral action-repression-action cycle. The paper further contends that the differing dynamics of the strategic dimensions at two levels - target selection by the rebels and the use of violence is crucial in determining the outcome of the movement