Ex-Combatants and the Post-Conflict State

Abstract

This exciting series provides a space in which to interrogate and challenge much of the conventional wisdom on political violence. Books in the series are at the forefront of research, pushing forward new debate in the field of political violence without rehashing clichés about security, violence and 'terrorism'. Authors from both the critical and orthodox perspectives use the book series to reappraise some of the fundamental questions facing societies on how to deal with and interpret organised violence. Many of the books in the series are comparative, draw on fieldwork, and use insights from a variety of methodologies.

Rethinking Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration Programs

“…Loopholes and gaps remain, in particular around the mechanisms at stake in the successful social and economic reintegration of former combatants (Podder 2012;Bowd and Ozerdem 2013;McMullin 2013;Munive 2013). In particular, the emphasis on vocational training seems misplaced in many contexts, but perhaps critical observers are right when they suggest that vocational training persists because it is what donors are willing to fund and what implementing agencies are familiar with, and therefore involves little risk (McMullin 2013: 190ff).…”

“…The reintegration of ex-combatants into civilian life is a common and complicated challenge for all DDR programs-whatever the model adopted (Giustozzi 2012;McMullin 2013;Bowd and Ozerdem 2013). Numerous reports analyze the failures or successes of past DDR programs in reintegrating ex-combatants (Scanteam 2010;STHLM 2010), and a range of manuals exists that presents lessons learned on how to create the best conditions for reintegration.…”

Invisible Labour: The Political Economy of Reintegration in South Sudan

“…A common challenge for all DDR programmes-whichever model adopted-is how to reintegrate ex-combatants into civilian life (Giustozzi 2012;McMullin 2013;Bowd and Ozerdem 2013). A range of manuals drawing on previous DDR processes present the 'lessons learned' on how to create the best conditions for reintegration, and volumes of reports analyse and describe past DDR programme failures or successes in reintegrating the target group (Rowe and Banal 2009).…”

“…The importance widely ascribed to the economic logic of youth mobilization has had a profound impact on the way post-conflict interventions are framed (McMullin 2013;Munive and Jakobsen 2012). 4 The steering logic is that if armed mobilization during civil strife is the result of economic pull factors, then peace initiatives should focus on providing much-needed alternative civil economic incentives, i.e.…”

Military service pensions and the recognition and reintegration of guerrilla fighters after the Irish revolution

“…In Mozambique and Namibia the continued exclusion of the government's opponents from veterans' benefits, especially pensions, remains one of the most significant obstacles to conflict resolution, in particular the ongoing denial of pension rights to Renamo fighters in Mozambique, where twenty years after the conflict 'the pension issue continues to be a divisive one'. 68 The process of recognizing legitimate pensionable service was highly subjective and reliant on the opinions of individual assessors, whose interpretations of the nebulous phrase 'active service' varied greatly. For over twenty years the military service pensions referee played a crucial role in shaping the standard that an ex-combatant needed to achieve to be recognized as a revolutionary veteran.…”