Politics Of The Post War Politics Of The Post War Assessing The Process Of Disarmament Demobilisation And Reintegration In South Sudan Ddr

The Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) of ex-combatants is a critical aspect of conflict prevention in countries emerging from civil war. It is often designed and implemented in post-war situations to contribute to broader national recovery efforts through Security Sector Reform (SSR), primarily to support the twin objectives of 'sustainable peace' and 'development'. The justification for the DDR was based on the perception that 'peace requires breaking the command-and-control structures operating over rebel fighters... thus making it more difficult for them to return to organised rebellion' (Spear, 2002, p. 141). Following the ending of the war between the Sudanese's Government and the Southern rebels - the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) in 2005 (Rolandsen, 2011), the security arrangements mandated the implementation of a DDR. According to the peace accord, the main antagonists, the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the SPLM/A should demobilise a substantial number of their forces. The accord envisaged the DDR in South Sudan as a provisional security measure to facilitate the fundamental challenge of proportional downsizing of force, rationalisation and standardisation of ex-guerrilla forces into a national army. During implementation, the DDR in South Sudan fell short of meeting its envisaged objectives. This failure formed the basis of this project's research question: What are the factors affecting the DDR in South Sudan? The main challenge cited by this project is the conflict's context in Sudan. The war between military Islamists in the North and the radical secessionists in the South created a political situation characterised by conflicting security and political demands, which sought a military strategic balancing and conflict manipulation. In the post-war South/ern Sudan, the effort to conduct the DDR was met with hostile socio-political conditions based on an attempt to maintain the status-quo of a united Sudan versus partitionist demands. This contradiction caused a tense post-war transition, a situation 'best described as a no peace-no war environment (Munive, 2013, p. 586). Despite the importance attributed to DDR in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, the unwillingness by the SPLM/A to downsize its force, and the perils of designing and applying such a complicated process, failed the initial CPA-DDR. The SPLM/A was extremely hesitant or unwilling to downsize its forces 'due to a perception that the CPA was merely a ceasefire with the North' (Munive, 2013, p. 586). In South Sudan, however, the internal outlooks were not supportive of the DDR. The devastating civil war resulted in a humanitarian catastrophe that claimed the lives of millions and drove more away from their homes between 1983-2005. Since then, South Sudan has been undergoing a process of violence and security configurations between the different ethno-political groups. This condition makes it difficult for the Southern Sudanese to maintain the requirements for the DDR, especially the capacity to reintegrate the demobilised ex-combatants. Thus, this thesis identifies various socio-political and economic factors affecting the process of DDR in South Sudan. One of the main issues emphasised is that South Sudan emerged from war too fragile and fragmented along ethno-political lines. In this challenging situation, the DDR confronts debilitating problems. This lack of capacity means the South Sudanese state cannot meet certain functions that require centralised use of force. The main emphasis is that South Sudan emerged from war to peace, from rebellion to government, and from contested territory to statehood, in quick transition. This region has been without government or supreme authority for a long time and hence developed alternative governments. This fragmentation of authorities allowed multiple armed structures to emerge, with intersecting influences on the use of force.

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).

"Though conflict has been the focus of much academic attention, the processes of recovering from war and conflict have been little studied. Confusion still exists as to whether post-war reconstruction is concerned with relief or development, with physical rebuilding, economic recovery, social reintegration or political reconstruction. The result is an all too frequent fragmentation and waste of effort on the ground." "An understanding of the need to plan and integrate the many different activities for reconstruction and recovery within a shared vision is therefore crucial. The International Library of Post-war Reconstruction and Development will set out a conceptual and strategic framework for post-war reconstruction practice, at the same time exploring and illustrating specific aspects of practice for those working in the field or training to do so. The series will also act as a focus for a continuing dialogue between academics and practitioners at the forefront of developing the discipline."--BOOK JACKET.

This book looks at the political reintegration of armed groups after civil wars and the challenges of transforming �rebel�, �insurgent� or other non-state armed groups into viable political entities. Drawing on eight case studies, the definition of �armed groups� here ranges from militias, paramilitary forces, police units of various kinds to intelligence outfits. Likewise, the definition of �political integration� or �re-integration� has not been restricted to the formation of political parties, but is understood broadly as active participation in politics, policy-making or public debate through parties, newspapers, social organisations, think-tanks, NGOs or public service. The book seeks to locate or contextualise individual cases within their distinctive social, cultural and historical settings. As such it differs from much of the donor-driven literature that has tended to abstract the challenge of disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) from their political and historical context, focusing instead on technical or bureaucratic issues raised by the DDR process. Among the issues covered by the volume as a whole, three stand out: first, the role of political settlements in creating legitimate opportunities for erstwhile leaders of armed factions; second, the ability of reintegration programmes to create genuine socio-economic opportunities that can absorb former fighters as functional members of their communities; and third, the processes involved in transforming an entire rebel movement into a viable political party, movement or, more generally, allowing it to participate in political life. This book will be of great interest to students of security and development, peace and conflict studies, and IR in general, as well as practitioners and policymakers. Mats Berdal is Professor of Security and Development in the Department of War Studies at King�s College London. From 2000 to 2003 he was Director of Studies at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in London. Mats Berdal is a Visiting Professor at the National Defence and Command College, Oslo. David Ucko is the Programme Coordinator & Research Fellow for the Conflict, Security & Development Research Group, King's College London.

With an increasing international interest in post civil war demobilisation and reintegration, especially in Africa, Ojeleye presents a well timed body of knowledge on the Nigerian civil war. Moreover, this book provides an in-depth study of the modalities and processes of the demobilisation and reintegration exercises carried out at the end of the Nigerian civil war and assesses their implications for national politics in the West African nation. The author identifies the political, socio-economic and cultural background to the Nigerian civil war and discusses the central theme of demobilisation, disarmament and reintegration (DDR) in Nigeria against the backdrop of the policy of the country's post war reconstruction, reconciliation and rehabilitation exercise (the 3Rs). Though the central theme is Nigeria, it compares the demobilisation and reintegration exercise in Nigeria with other attempts in Sub Sahara Africa by highlighting the important deviations and drawing some conclusions on the Nigerian experience. It also touches on issues relating to international involvement and intervention in civil wars and the roles of the African Union, the Commonwealth of Nations and the United Nations.

This open access book on the state of peacebuilding in Africa brings together the work of distinguished scholars, practitioners, and decision makers to reflect on key experiences and lessons learned in peacebuilding in Africa over the past half century. The core themes addressed by the contributors include conflict prevention, mediation, and management; post-conflict reconstruction, justice and Disarmament Demobilization and Reintegration; the role of women, religion, humanitarianism, grassroots organizations, and early warning systems; and the impact of global, regional, and continental bodies. The book's thematic chapters are complemented by six country/region case studies: The Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Sudan/South Sudan, Mozambique and the Sahel/Mali. Each chapter concludes with a set of key lessons learned that could be used to inform the building of a more sustainable peace in Africa. The State of Peacebuilding in Africa was born out of the activities of the Southern Voices Network for Peacebuilding (SVNP), a Carnegie-funded, continent-wide network of African organizations that works with the Wilson Center to bring African knowledge and perspectives to U.S., African, and international policy on peacebuilding in Africa. The research for this book was made possible by a grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York.