Ex-Combatants’ Voices: Transitioning from War to Peace in Northern Ireland, South Africa and Sri Lanka (Palgrave Studies in Compromise after Conflict)

This book develops the discourse on the experiences of ex-combatants and their transition from war to peace, from the perspective of scholars across disciplines. Ex-combatants are often overlooked and ignored in the post-conflict search for memory and understanding, resulting in their voice being excluded or distorted. This collection seeks to disclose something of the lived experience of ex-combatants who have made the transition from war to peace to help to understand some of the difficulties they have encountered in social and emotional reintegration in the wake of combat. These include: motivations and mobilizations to participation in military struggle; the material difficulties experienced in social reintegration after the war; the emotional legacies of conflict; the discourses they utilize to reconcile their past in a society moving forward from conflict toward peace; and ex-combatants’ subsequent engagement – or not – in peacebuilding. It also examines the contributions that former combatants have made to post-conflict compromise, reconciliation and peacebuilding. It focusses on male non-state actors, women, child soldiers and, unusually, state veterans, and complements previous volumes which captured the voices of victims in Northern Ireland, South Africa and Sri Lanka. This volume speaks to those working in the areas of sociology, criminology, security studies, politics, and international relations, and professionals working in social justice and human rights NGOs. Series Editor’s Preface: Palgrave Studies in Compromise After Conflict Contents Notes on Contributors 1: Introduction Introduction The Rationale for the Book Bibliography 2: Listening to Ex-combatants’ Voices Introduction Research on Ex-combatants Ex-combatant Voices Isolating the ‘Voice’ of Ex-combatants The Martyr-Hero-Demon Syndrome Ex-combatants as a Moral Category Conclusion Bibliography Part I: Voices from Northern Ireland and Britain 3: Female Ex-combatants in the Irish Republican Army and the Rocky Road to Peace Editorial Comment Introduction Methodology Out with the Old and in with the New: Women on the Frontline The Power to Punish and the Role of Bodily Resistance: The No Wash Protest Hunger Strikes and the Politics of Resistance Attainable Peace and the Inclusion of Women Prisoners Conclusion Bibliography 4: The Experiences of Loyalist Ex-combatants on Their Journey from Conflict to Peace Editorial Comment Introduction Motivations to Participation in Loyalist Militarism Strengths and Weaknesses of Social Reintegration Policies Material Difficulties Experienced in Social Reintegration The Emotional Legacies of the Conflict Making Sense of the Past and the Future of Loyalism The Transformation of Loyalist Ex-combatants Conclusion Bibliography 5: ‘Sin by Silence’: The Claims to Moral Legitimacy Amongst Northern Irish Paramilitaries Editorial Comment Introduction The Concept of Legitimacy Hearing Ex-combatants Claims The Moral Claims to Legitimacy by Irish Republicans and Ulster Loyalists Reluctant Combatants An Emotionally Costly Decision Not Taken Lightly Protecting Their Communities The Enduring Legacy of Military Involvement Involvement in Conflict Transformation Being Judged on the Here-and-Now, Not the Past Conclusion Bibliography 6: British Counter-Insurgency Veterans in Afghanistan Editorial Comment Introduction Counter-Insurgency Warfare The Continuum of Normal Transition for Afghanistan Veterans The Role of Life Events The ‘Bubble’ of Counter-Insurgency The ‘Ontological Crisis’ and ‘Techniques of Neutralisation’ Compartmentalising Military Life The ‘Institutional Self’ and the ‘Transition Self’ The Balance Between Support and Co-dependency Media, Social Attitudes and Public Perceptions ‘Chosen Trauma’ and Victimhood Conclusion Bibliography Part II: Voices from South Africa 7: Contested Voices of Former Combatants in Post-Apartheid South Africa Editorial Comment Introduction Who Is an Ex-combatant in South Africa? The Politics of Recognition: Dehumanising APLA Integration into the New Army The Construction of Militarised Identities Female Comrades Remain Voiceless The Lived Experience of Former Combatants Since the Advent of Democracy The Lived Experience of Trauma Conclusion Bibliography 8: The Lives of Women Ex-combatants in Post-Apartheid South Africa Editorial Comment Introduction South African DDR Policies in Context Women and DDR Women’s Motivations for Joining the Armed Struggle Ex-combatant Civilian Life Conclusion Bibliography 9: ‘Why Did I Die?’: South African Defence Force Conscripts Pre- and Post-1994 Editorial Comment Introduction Pre-1994: ‘National Service’ in the SADF Post-1994: White Conscripts as Victims, Perpetrators, Combatants? From Post-1994 to Post-Apartheid: Towards Narrative Repair ‘Wishing Us Away’: Beyond SADF Conscripts Conclusion: Beyond Victims and Perpetrators Bibliography 10: An African Comparison: Girl Soldiers Returning from a Rebel Group in Northern Uganda Editorial Comments Introduction The Lord’s Resistance Army Insurgency in Northern Uganda The Problem of Reintegration Stigmatisation Research Methodology The Lived Experience of Stigmatisation Stigma and Ex-soldiers as Potential Carriers of Cen Stigmatisation as a Hindrance to Reintegration Strategies for Coping with Stigmatisation and Engaging in Reintegration Information Control Secrecy Silence Adopting Solitary Lives Reporting Stigmatisers to Authorities Conclusion Bibliography Part III: Voices from Sri Lanka 11: Reflections on the Role of Female Cadres in the LTTE Editorial Comments Introduction Joining the LTTE: A Question of Choice or Coercion? The Lived Experiences of Female Cadres Female Suicide Cadres Was There Real Transformation for the Women in the LTTE? Post-War Challenges Challenges with Reintegration Conclusion Bibliography 12: Media Representations of Women Ex-combatants in Sri Lanka Editorial Comments Introduction Methodology and Approach Gendered Work and Economic Status Marriage Motherhood Conclusion Bibliography 13: Concluding Reflections Introduction Summary of Key Arguments The Wider Relevance of Hearing Ex-combatants’ Voices A Global North/South Perspective on Ex-combatants Other Generic Issues Arising from Our Comparisons Conclusion Bibliography Index