Reintegration Of Ex-combatants Research Articles

Women, peace and insecurity: The risks of peacebuilding in everyday life for women in Sri Lanka and Nepal.

Truth telling processes, initiatives to prosecute war-time perpetrators, and ex-combatant reintegration are examples of common peacebuilding practices after war. Yet, little is known of how women are affected by peacebuilding initiatives such as these, or how they perceive these initiatives for peace. For many women, peace after war does not bring peace to everyday life; research shows that domestic violence increases during and after war. In addition, some peacebuilding measures have been found to increase risk and insecurity, not least for women. To better understand the interconnections between gender and post-conflict attitudes to peacebuilding, we asked 2,041 women and men in Sri Lanka and Nepal of their views on post-war peace initiatives. In line with our expectations, we find that women are more skeptical than men towards peacebuilding measures that involve increased risk in everyday life, such as truth-telling and coexisting with former adversaries and warring groups reintegrating in local communities. There are no gender differences pertaining to peacebuilding initiatives that take place far away at the national level, for example, concerning accountability or, in the case of Nepal, the peace agreement. Our findings suggest that international peacebuilding practice is blind to the everyday insecurities of women after war. That a basic gendered lens is missing from most peacebuilding designs is both alarming and deeply troubling, but identifying this critical aspect provides the opportunity for imperative change. By shedding light on the challenges women face after war, we hope this article contributes to finding ways to mitigate unknown and unintended side-effects of peacebuilding efforts, and thereby to the development of better, evidence-based peacebuilding practice-of benefit to both men and women.

Public preferences of environmental peacebuilding: The case of forest conservation projects in Colombia

To date, no studies have examined the nationwide support for environmental peacebuilding projects in post-conflict countries, that is, projects that seek to use the management of natural resources as a way of fostering peace and cooperation. However, public support can be crucial for the legitimacy and effectiveness of these projects. This article aims to address this gap by exploring which project characteristics influence public support for environmental peacebuilding projects. It does so through a conjoint experiment in Colombia with 1,504 survey respondents, focusing on forest conservation projects. The findings indicate that provisions related to the reintegration of ex-combatants and the dialogue between victims and ex-combatants resonate positively with respondents. Participants from the political right or those opposed to the 2016 peace agreement were somewhat less responsive to this information. The most significant impact was observed with provisions for job creation and public investments that targeted the entire population. Based on these findings, we conclude that the inclusion of environmental peacebuilding provisions in forest conservation projects can increase public support for them in post-conflict countries.

The roles of South Sudan Government in the Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration of Ex-combatants: A case of South Sudan Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration Commission

The roles of South Sudan Government in the Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration of Ex-combatants: A case of South Sudan Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration Commission

Is recognition the answer? Exploring the barriers for successful reintegration of ex-combatants into civil society in Northern Ireland and Colombia

ABSTRACT This article explores the barriers faced by ex-combatants in Northern Ireland and Colombia as they reintegrate into civil society. It focuses on analysing three key aspects for a successful reintegration process: access to education opportunities after demobilisation, inclusion and participation into the civilian economy, and the exercise of equal citizenship in order to guarantee social and civic reintegration. The article presents the results of fifty-four interviews with former combatants from both countries. It is argued that for the purpose of developing effective and inclusive reintegration processes for ex-combatants, it is crucial to address claims for recognition as a central dimension of reintegration. The paper concludes that the recognition of ex-combatants’ social expectations during the demobilisation stage, and the acknowledgement of their experiences of marginalisation in the course of the reintegration process, is vital to enable former combatants to achieve the self-realisation of their civilian identity.

Reintegration of ex-combatants in a militarized society

ABSTRACT This article examines how the transition from soldier to civilian is affected by a militarised environment, relying on fieldwork conducted in Basra in the period following Iraq’s war with the Islamic State (2014–2017). The article begins by mapping community perceptions of militaristic behaviours and ideologies present within Basra society. It demonstrates that respondents distinguished different types of militarised behaviour and ideology, accepting or tolerating some while rejecting or denouncing others. The article then considers how these perceptions of militarisation affected community attitudes towards the reintegration of ex-combatants. We find that ‘acceptable’ forms of militarised behaviour and ideology were often described as consistent with the reintegration of ex-combatants, whereas the failure to reintegrate reflected ‘non-acceptable’ forms of militarised behaviour or ideology. This approach offers new insights to community-based DDR programming in militarised environments and points to a model of transformation grounded in local realities.

Discrimination in post-conflict settings: Experimental evidence from Colombia

After a civil war, community support for the reintegration of ex-combatants is crucial for peace-building. Using a crowdfunding campaign to promote trainees’ business ideas, we investigate whether university students discriminate against ex-combatants in Colombia. Our results show that there is no discrimination against ex-combatants in terms of donations compared with other trainees, but there is a substantial degree of prejudice and skepticism. This finding suggests that the reintegration of ex-combatants might be affected by the NIMBY phenomena. Although willing to economically support the peace process, individuals are skeptical towards personal encounters with ex-combatants. This suggest that to achieve sustainable peace, policies should focus on decreasing stigmatization towards ex-combatants.

¡Zapatero, a tus zapatos! Explaining the social engagement of M-19 ex-combatants in education and social work institutions in Colombia

Why do some former rebels transition into social engagement after demobilisation while others do not? How do they adjust their militant aspirations to their context of reintegration? Studies on the political dimensions of rebel groups’ disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration processes have focused on post-rebel political parties, ex-combatant violence, elite transformation, political participation, and social and community engagement. Despite increased attention to reintegration processes, we know little about the processes that shape community engagement amongst ex-combatants. I address this gap by investigating the lifelong socialisation processes that influence transitions in and out of violence and social engagement. I argue that socialisation across various institutional settings in pre-recruitment and wartime life stages provides ex-combatants with dispositions and resources that, in interaction with post-demobilisation opportunities, shape their post-demobilisation social engagement. Applying a biographical approach, I analyse the trajectories of 32 ex-combatants from M-19, a left-wing nationalist guerrilla group at war with the Colombian government between 1974 and 1990. The study contributes to the literature on the long-term consequences of ex-combatant reintegration, socialisation and violence as well as the legacies of armed violence. It notably highlights how various dimensions of insurgent mobilisation can have lasting effects on individual life courses and society more broadly.

When reintegration fails: Stigmatization drives the ongoing violence of ex-combatants in Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Reintegration of ex‐combatants involves multiple challenges. In addition to the trauma‐related psychological sequelae, social obstacles in the community can aggravate psychopathological aggressive tendencies and lead to the continuation of violence in civilian life. However, the association between others’ negative attitudes and ex‐combatants’ ongoing perpetration of violence remains largely unexplored. Between September 2018 and May 2019, we assessed a representative community sample of adults in Eastern DR Congo (N = 1,058) and measured trauma exposure, perpetration, mental health problems (PTSD, depression, and appetitive aggression), perceived stigma (shame, perceived lack of social acknowledgement), experienced stigma, and skepticism toward reintegration with ex‐combatants. Male ex‐combatants (12%, n = 129) had more past trauma and violence perpetration than other community members and a greater number of recent conflicts (including both victimization and perpetration) within the community and with strangers/organized violence. They reported more experienced stigma, more severe PTSD symptoms but were less skeptical about reintegration. Ex‐combatants’ ongoing violence was predicted by an interplay of the community's skepticism toward reintegration and ex‐combatants’ perceived and recently experienced stigma (often attributed to the armed group history) and mental health problems, in addition to lifetime traumatization. These findings promote the need for combined interventions that address individual mental health problems including aggression and collective discriminatory attitudes and behaviors.

Economic Competition and Civilian Support for Rebel Reintegration

Economic considerations play a critical role in combatants' participation in civil conflict. We bring novel evidence to bear on a related, but under-studied question: do economic considerations impact civilian support for conflict termination? Reconciliation depends on successful reintegration of ex-combatants into the peace-time economy. However, competitive considerations may undermine civilian support for reintegration. We provide evidence for this claim employing a quasi-experimental approach, leveraging localized effects of the 2015 Hindu Kush earthquake and individual-level survey data on support for Taliban reintegration. The earthquake reduced support for reintegration into disproportionately impacted economic sectors. We find no change in support for reintegration into unaffected sectors. The results are robust to a battery of tests including a novel spatial randomization with geocoded fault line segments representing the universe of counterfactual earthquakes. Our findings provide new insight into the economics of conflict resolution: economic considerations may undermine civilian support for rebel reintegration.

Assessing psychosocial conditions for social reintegration of former Maoist combatants and communities in Nepal

ABSTRACT While the disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration literature emphasises that social reintegration of ex-combatants is key to sustainable peace, few analyses exist, leading to limited understanding of reintegration dynamics and subsequently ad hoc programme design. We examined the psychosocial conditions faced by 223 ex-combatants from the People’s Liberation Army and 213 host community stakeholders in Nepal in 2012 and 2013, specifically investigating the relation between Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), factional ties and Readiness to Reconcile in ex-combatants. Despite ex-combatants’ positive attitudes and perceptions of their host communities, many struggled to generate an income. Ex-combatants who were likely to suffer from PTSD reported lower readiness to reconcile with former enemies. Having factional ties did not impact willingness to reconcile, but was associated with reduced PTSD. Most community stakeholders positively regarded the arrival of these ex-combatants. However, a minority expressed alarm about political differences, war grievances and ex-combatants’ problematic behaviour. Critical activities identified to facilitate social reintegration are psychosocial trauma support and counselling, social interaction and peace education programmes and continued socio-economic support for both communities and ex-combatants.

Insects for peace.

Insects such as the black soldier fly (BSF) are a nutritious feed component for livestock with high protein levels. BSF can be reared on a wide range of organic residual streams. This allows for local production within a circular agriculture, decoupling livestock production from import of expensive feed components, such as fishmeal or soymeal. Rearing of BSF can be done by smallholder farmers, thus contributing to their livelihood, economic sustainability and social status. Smallholder farmers contribute importantly to food security, which is a prerequisite for a stable society. In armed conflicts, smallholder farmers are usually the first to suffer. In countries recovering from conflict, agricultural development should focus on restoring food production by smallholder farmers, improving their socio-economic position, thereby contributing to sustainable development goals 2 (zero hunger) and 16 (peace and justice). Here, we focus on these SDGs with an example of reintegration of ex-combatants as smallholder insect producers in post-conflict Colombia.

Contextualising Reintegration: Conceptualising and Measuring Ex-Combatant Reintegration Relative to Civilians

ABSTRACT Reintegrating ex-combatants back into society is central to peace building, yet remains poorly understood. This is largely due to the difficulties of conceptualising and measuring reintegration. This paper argues that comparing ex-combatants and civilians can contribute to improved measures of reintegration, and to a better understanding of what it means in a given context. A novel theoretical and methodological approach is proposed, drawing on social cohesion research and creating a composite indicator of reintegration, allowing for comparisons between ex-combatants and civilians, and providing insights about how they differ and why. The approach is demonstrated using surveys from Colombia.

Wartime ties and the social logic of crime

While ex-combatant reintegration is vital to successful transitions from war to peace, some former fighters turn to crime following demobilization. Such criminality undermines the consolidation of political order. Leading theories of crime participation emphasize the role of both individual economic opportunities and factors related to social ties. Yet, we still know little about the social logic of ex-combatant criminality and how social and economic factors relate as drivers of crime participation. This article presents a theory of how wartime social ties – namely, vertical ties to former commanders and horizontal ties to ex-combatant peers – influence ex-combatant crime on their own and via their relationship to economic opportunity costs. We use the theory to derive predictions in the context of Colombia, and then test them with a combination of administrative data and high-quality original survey data. We find that both vertical and horizontal wartime ties are powerful drivers of ex-combatant criminality. Our evidence indicates that wartime ties mitigate the risks of criminal behavior by facilitating the transmission of criminal capabilities and pro-crime social norms. We do not find that economic conditions moderate the effect of wartime times nor do we find any indication that economic opportunity costs, on their own, predict criminality. These findings underscore the importance of wartime ties – both vertical and horizontal – to understanding post-conflict transitions and designing reintegration interventions.

Technical Education for the Reintegration of Ex-Combatants: One Pathway, Different Trajectories

Reintegration programs promote technical and vocational education and training (TVET) for ex-combatants, with the aim of preparing them to participate in the labor market and assume new social roles. This in-depth interview study with ex-combatants from Colombia participating in technical programs explores the motivations they have for enrolling in technical education, critical information to identify ways in which programs could better respond to participants’ aspirations. Findings illustrated that through education, ex-combatants seek to be respected and recognized, set an example for their children, experience a moral transformation, and develop autonomy. These findings suggest that TVET’s assumptions that ex-combatants are only motivated by material factors such as money and employment are too reductionist.

Non-military approach against terrorism in Nigeria: deradicalization strategies and challenges in countering Boko Haram

For a successful counter-terrorism campaign, scholars and conflict practitioners emphasize a combination of military and non-military strategies. While a military strategy is useful to weaken the military capacity of terrorists, non-military strategies including negotiations, deradicalization, disarmament, rehabilitation, reintegration, and other soft measures are advanced to tackle the underlying problems fuelling terrorism to achieve a long-term peaceful outcome. Within the non-military approach, deradicalization program is very significant, especially in combating religion- or ideology-motivated terrorism, given that the strategy not only aims to deconstruct extremist ideologies but also facilitates the rehabilitation and reintegration of ex-combatants and victims of violent extremism. This study analyzes the deradicalization program of the Nigerian government towards countering Boko Haram. It is argued that the design and implementation of the program have structural weaknesses that may further contribute to the problem of violent extremism. Therefore, the paper recommends measures that can strengthen the deradicalization program for a successful counter-terrorism operation.

Building a Safety Net: Explaining the Strength of Ex-Military Networks

The disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration of ex-combatants has become an integral part of peacebuilding. Although the main purpose of such interventions is to dissolve the military structures of armed groups, there is growing evidence that ex-combatant networks often remain intact. We investigate why such structures continue to thrive. We argue that ex-military networks are stronger when ex-commanders have weak links to elite patronage systems. Ex-combatants who are unable to rely on their former superiors for economic assistance must instead build denser ties to each other to gain access to a social safety net. To assess our argument, we conduct a comparative social network analysis (SNA) of two ex-military networks in Liberia. This innovative approach helps us uncover previously overlooked, but central, dynamics related to ex-combatant groups. We thereby show that SNA provides a range of underutilized tools and exact definitions that can increase our understanding of ex-military networks.

The reintegration of ex-combatants and post-conflict violence. An analysis of municipal crime levels in Colombia

Violent crime in Colombia is analyzed following the demobilization of ex-combatants using municipal-level data. The main findings are that an increased presence of ex-combatants does not systematically increase homicides, but may increase robberies. Reintegration programs are shown to matter. Former paramilitaries who are not in a reintegration program increase crime. Former guerillas increase robberies, regardless of whether they are in or out of reintegration, but homicides decrease for guerrillas in reintegration. Ex-combatants often settle in municipalities with more crime. Controlling for reverse causality, ex-combatants only increase crime if they are not in reintegration, while in reintegration they may reduce crime.

Determinants of Successful Reintegration of Ex-Combatants in Colombia: Some Initial Findings

Determinants of Successful Reintegration of Ex-Combatants in Colombia: Some Initial Findings

Post-Conflict Society and Gender: Reintegration of Ex-Combatants and Human Security

Post-Conflict Society and Gender: Reintegration of Ex-Combatants and Human Security

Reintegración social de excombatientes en dos comunidades de paz en Colombia

Este artículo analiza y compara la reintegración social de excombatientes en dos comunidades de paz en Colombia, la Asociación de Trabajadores Campesinos del Carare (Santander) y Samaniego (Nariño). Con base principalmente en entrevistas a excombatientes y pobladores, examinamos cómo ambas comunidades, cada una a su manera y en distintos grados, proveyeron garantías de seguridad a los excombatientes, ayudaron a reducir la estigmatización de los mismos, les ofrecieron oportunidades de participación y los acompañaron en su reintegración. Argumentamos que las características de ambas como comunidades de paz, especialmente su alto capital social, facilitaron la reintegración social de excombatientes. Sin embargo, la primera comunidad de paz, al estar más consolidada, tuvo mejores resultados.