War Veterans in Postwar Situations: Chechnya, Serbia, Turkey, Peru, and Côte d'Ivoire

by N. Duclos (Editor)

Overview

This edited volume deals with the reintegration and trajectories of intrastate or interstate war veterans. It raises the question of the effects of the war experience on ex-combatants with regards, in particular, to the perpetuation of a certain level of violence as well as the maintaining of structures, networks, and war methods after the war.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780230341357
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan US
Publication date:	05/31/2012
Series:	The Sciences Po Series in International Relations and Political Economy
Edition description:	2012
Pages:	301
Product dimensions:	9.30(w) x 6.20(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

NATHALIE DUCLOS Senior Lecturer in Political Science at the University of Tours, France.

Table of Contents

Preface Stathis N. Kalyvas vii

Introduction: Rethinking the Former Combatants' Return to Civilian Life Nathalie Duclos 1

Part 1 Veterans' Habitus of War, Brutalization of Societies?

1 A "Chechen Syndrome"? Russian Veterans of the Chechen War and the Transposition of War Violence to Society Anne Le Huérou Elisabeth Sieca-Kozlowski 25

2 The Return of the Conscripts—A Vector for the Construction of a National Security Regime in Turkey? Sümbül Kaya 53

3 Reintegrating Civilian Life after Combat: Between Invisibility and Resistance. The Experience of the Ronderas in Peru Camille Boutron 73

4 Paramilitary Demobilization and the Return of Violence in Colombia Sophie Daviaud 95

Part 2 Process of Reintegration, Cultural Demobilization?

5 A Veteran's Challenge: From the Test of War to the American Dream Béatrice Richard 117

6 The Position of Former Combatants, French Authorities, and Public Opinion Vis-à-Vis German Prisoners of War (1944-1949) Fabien Théofilakis 137

7 The "Recycled" Militiaman: An Examination of the Postwar Reconversion of Four Former Members of a Serbian Armed Group Samuel Tanner 157

8 Museveni's Best Enemies: Dilemmas and Political Uses of the Reintegration of Former Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) Commanders in Northern Uganda Sandrine Perrot 177

Part 3 From Military Combat to Political Struggle: Reconversion or Continuity?

9 From the Great War to Democracy: Former Combatants and the Sardinian Autonomist Movement Christophe Roux 201

10 The Postwar Period in Chechnya: When Spoilers Jeopardize the Emerging Chechen State (1996-1999) Aude Merlin 219

11 A "Warrior" Generation? Political Violence and Subjectivation of Young Militamen in Ivory Coast Richard Banégas 241

Conclusion Nathalie Duclos 267

Bibliography 273

Contributors 287

Index 291

Editorial Reviews

"This collection of studies significantly expands the debate on programs of disarmament, demobilization and social reintegration of ex-combatants after violent conflict. Based on extensive fieldwork over a dozen case studies, it further demonstrates the value of bringing together sociological, historical and political science approaches to the configurations of peace, and will be welcomed by scholars of other disciplines including international relations, peace studies and political economy." - Michael Pugh, professor of Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Bradford, United Kingdom

'This edited book is a welcome addition to the ever-growing literature on ex-combatants. It breaks new ground by comparing and contrasting the experiences of combatants in 'old' and 'new' wars, interstate and intrastate conflicts, and by recasting the issue of 'post-war' demobilization and disarmament in historical light. In so doing, Duclos and her collaborators break free from the limits of evaluative approaches to DDR programs. By focusing on the trajectories of combatants, the various chapters stress the importance of often discounted factors in shaping the experiences of soldiers and rebels alike. The volume highlights elements such as public discourse commemorating or denying the war experiences of combatants, veteran policies or the lack thereof, sociability networks and identity transformations. Most importantly, the volume reminds us that demobilization and disarmament are but a first step; assessing the endurance or the fading of 'brutalization', or the socialization of combatants into a very specific and violent repertoire of actions, is a much more nuanced and useful way to assess whether the return of ex-combatants to civilian life will bear the seeds of destabilization." - Marie-Joëlle Zahar, Associate Professor of Political Science and Research Director of the Réseau des opérations de paix, Université de Montréal

From the Publisher