Living Politics After War: Ex-Combatants and Veterans Coming Home

Life after war is intrinsically political for former combatants. As wars end, societies and former combatants face a period of transition. Wars politicize combatants, and their relationship with the state, in a number of different ways, either explicitly or inadvertently. This book examines how former combatants come home after war and live politics, capturing the challenges and opportunities for political mobilization among former combatants as they come home from three very different wars.Using self-constructed life histories, the book draws out the similarities (and dissimilarities) across three different wars and types of former combatants from Colombia (civil war), Namibia (independence war) and the USA (interstate war). Their political life histories after war sheds light on how former combatants' identities, networks, war experiences and coming home experiences shape their political involvement long after the war has ended. Life after war is intrinsically political for former combatants. As wars end, societies and former combatants face a period of transition. This book explores the experience of coming home for former combatants, capturing the challenges and opportunities for political mobilization among former combatants as they return from three very different wars: South West Africa People's Organization combatants who participated in the Namibian War of Independence (1966-90); guerrillas from Movimiento 19 de Abril who joined the ongoing guerilla warfare conducted against the Colombian state (1974-90), and combatants from the United States who participated in the Vietnam War (1955-75).0Offering an insightful perspective on peace as a process through the long-term study of the lives of fifty former combatants, Soederstroem demonstrates how the process of coming home shapes their political commitment and identity. Combining detailed scholarship with interviews with former combatants, this volume serves as a powerful reminder of the legacies of war in the lives of former combatants This book is about how former combatants live politics as they come home from war. Building on life histories from three very different wars, this book demonstrates how veteran identities, networks, war experiences and coming home experiences together make up a life of politics for former combatants. -- .