Who Punishes the Leader? Culpability and Leader Punishment during Civil War
What explains the variations in leader punishment during civil war? By focusing on leader punishment executed by military officers, I illuminate the mechanisms that explain the variations in war-time leader punishment. Specifically, I claim that whether a leader is considered culpable for the initiation of the war has an important implication for who punishes the leader – whether a leader is punished by members of the ruling coalition to which the leader belongs (i.e. members of junta such as Revolutionary Command Councils or the minister of defense), or by those outside the ruling coalition (i.e. typically middle-ranked and low-ranked officers). Empirical evidence supports my hypotheses: (i) culpable leaders are more likely to be punished by those outside the ruling coalition, should the war go poorly, while (ii) nonculpable leaders are more likely to be punished by members of the ruling coalition. The findings challenge and improve the literature’s views on how leader culpability determines leader punishment in the context of wars.