'Together at the heart': familial relations and the social reintegration of ex-combatants/
Carla Suarez & Erin Baines
- 2022
In this article, we broaden existing literature on ex-combatant networks by examining the role that family relations play in combatants' war and post-war trajectory. Drawing on 18 life history interviews with former male combatants from the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) we argue that the familial can often be as influential as peer-relations. Specifically, our study shows that, first, familiies can shape the defection, demobilization, and reintegration processes of ex-combatants, and, second, ex-combatant networks can play an important role in facilitating the reunion of families in the aftermath of war. The endurance of familial relations forged within NSAGs pose important considerations to DDR policies.