This book revisits post-Cold War Disarmament Disintegration and Reintegration (DDR) programmes in the light of previous experiences of disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration. In the history of North America and Europe, in particular, such programmes had a major impact on state-building, contributing to the development of the welfare state, shaping political settlements and directing government policy to maintain social peace. The authors in this important book ask what is left of these state-building dimensions in contemporary DDR programmes and whether the constraints imposed by international organisations on DDR programmes have more negative effects than positive ones. The role of political leadership in DDR processes is highlighted: can bureaucratically-driven processes deliver success? Only if political elites take full control and manage DDR programmes can there be a lasting impact on state-building. Even then, most political elites avoid deep changes in their relationship with the veterans. Is there a chance of reshaping international intervention in such a way as to favour the development of a 'social contract' between political elites and veterans? In taking a historical perspective, this book is unique in the existing literature on DDR and will be essential reading for policy makers, students and scholars of conflict studies, and those working in NGOs, particularly donor agencies. This volume was produced with the contribution of the Crisis States Research Centre (LSE).

This book is a critical comparative reflection of the post-colonial conflict Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) of ex-combatants in Zimbabwe, Namibia and South Africa. It offers an up-to-date comparative analysis of how specific analytical elements that transcend state boundaries shaped DDR in the three southern African countries. The author explores structural and organizational frameworks, target groups, state leadership in DDR, linkages between DDR and SSR in nation and state building, and types of post-conflict violence. The volume draws on fieldwork including interviews with policy makers and government officials as well as ex-combatants and experts to provide valuable insights into how post-colonial conflict DDR can provide knowledge crucial to understanding and addressing the problems of post-conflict peace building in Africa. The book is aimed at academics, researchers and students working on Southern Africa; African and Western policymakers concerned with problematic post-conflict situations on the continent, where improvising DDR processes will be vital to success; as well as the general reader interested in political, security and other developments in the region. It will be of use in postgraduate courses in the inter-related fields of international relations, comparative government, conflict resolution and peacebuilding.

This book sets out to break down and identify positive associations between Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR) and Security Sector Reform (SSR). Drawing on case studies from selected post-conflict settings, the book demonstrates the potential and reality of improved collaboration between both endeavors. Enhanced cooperation could avoid negative outcomes, such as former combatants dropping out of programs, trust undermined in security institutions, and the creation of security vacuums that jeopardize the safety of individuals and communities. A central claim of the book is that programs must be responsive to the needs and interests of different national actors. Without understanding the dynamic political processes that shape the origins, parameters, and outcomes of both processes, DDR and SSR may address security deficits, but will be unfit to support sustainable transitions towards national recovery and development. (Series: Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces [DCAF])

This book critically examines the approaches to Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) of ex-combatants programming in Africa. Drawing on empirical evidence from across the continent, the book investigates the different theories, contextual realities and approaches that have informed the establishment and implementation of such programmes, the opportunities they have provided for stability, peace and security, and the challenges with which they have contended. The book combines broader theoretical analysis with country-specific case studies, including Nigeria, the Central African Republic, South Sudan, Somalia, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Burundi, Zimbabwe, South Africa, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Overall, the book asks how DDR programming has evolved in Africa, what factors have contributed to the success or failure of DDR processes, and what we can expect for DDR in Africa in the future. This book will be a useful guide for students and researchers across the fields of Peace and Conflict Studies, Security Studies, History, Political Science, Sociology, and African Studies.

Reintegration programmes for ex-combatants are supposed to support the wider peace process. This study, based on detailed fieldwork, looks at the way they were carried out in Sierra Leone and Liberia and assesses the degree to which they were conducted in a participatory way.

As a conflict ends and the parties begin working towards a durable peace, practitioners and peacebuilders are faced with the thrilling possibilities and challenges of building new or reformed political, security, judicial, social, and economic structures. This Handbook analyzes these elements of post-conflict state building through the lens of international law, which provides a framework through which the authors contextualize and examine the many facets of state building in relation to the legal norms, processes, and procedures that guide such efforts across the globe. The volume aims to provide not only an introduction to and explanation of prominent topics in state building, but also a perceptive analysis that augments ongoing conversations among researchers, lawyers, and advocates engaged in the field.

Peacebuilding, Power, and Politics in Africa is a critical reflection on peacebuilding efforts in Africa. The authors expose the tensions and contradictions in different clusters of peacebuilding activities, including peace negotiations; statebuilding; security sector governance; and disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration. Essays also address the institutional framework for peacebuilding in Africa and the ideological underpinnings of key institutions, including the African Union, NEPAD, the African Development Bank, the Pan-African Ministers Conference for Public and Civil Service, the UN Peacebuilding Commission, the World Bank, and the International Criminal Court. The volume includes on-the-ground case study chapters on Sudan, the Great Lakes Region of Africa, Sierra Leone and Liberia, the Niger Delta, Southern Africa, and Somalia, analyzing how peacebuilding operates in particular African contexts. The authors adopt a variety of approaches, but they share a conviction that peacebuilding in Africa is not a script that is authored solely in Western capitals and in the corridors of the United Nations. Rather, the writers in this volume focus on the interaction between local and global ideas and practices in the reconstitution of authority and livelihoods after conflict. The book systematically showcases the tensions that occur within and between the many actors involved in the peacebuilding industry, as well as their intended beneficiaries. It looks at the multiple ways in which peacebuilding ideas and initiatives are reinforced, questioned, reappropriated, and redesigned by different African actors. A joint project between the Centre for Conflict Resolution in Cape Town, South Africa, and the Centre of African Studies at the University of Cambridge.

Countries emerging from civil war or protracted violence often face the daunting challenge of rebuilding their economy while simultaneously creating the political and social conditions for a stable peace. The implicit assumption in the international community that rapid political democratisation along with economic liberalisation holds the key to sustainable peace is belied by the experiences of countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan. Often, the challenges of post-conflict reconstruction revolve around the timing and sequencing of different reform that may have contradictory implications. Drawing on a range of thematic studies and empirical cases, this book examines how post-conflict reconstruction policies can be better sequenced in order to promote sustainable peace. The book provides evidence that many reforms that are often thought to be imperative in post-conflict societies may be better considered as long-term objectives, and that the immediate imperative for such societies should be 'people-centred' policies.

This updated and revised second edition of the Routledge Handbook of Peacebuilding contains cutting-edge analyses of contemporary attempts to reach and sustain peace. The book covers the main actors and dynamics of peacebuilding, as well as the main challenges that it faces, with accessible chapters. The volume is comprehensive, covering everything from the main international institutions for peacebuilding to the links between peacebuilding and climate change, or peacebuilding and trauma. It is also firmly interdisciplinary, with a number of chapters devoted to showcasing how different disciplines interpret peacebuilding and how they contribute to it. Bringing together leading thinkers and practitioners on peacebuilding, many from the Global South, the handbook offers a valuable “hands-on” perspective on how peace can be secured and sustained. There is a significant emphasis on comparison and the book shows how peacebuilding is best examined from the vantage point of multiple cases. The book is organised into six thematic sections: Part I: Architecture and Actors Part II: Reading Peacebuilding Part III: Issues and Approaches Part IV: Violence and Security Part V: Everyday Living Part VI: Disciplinary Approaches This book will be essential reading for students of peacebuilding, mediation and post-conflict reconstruction, and of great interest to students of statebuilding, intervention, civil wars, conflict resolution, war and conflict studies and IR in general.