Attaching and detaching: the successful reintegration of child soldiers

Why do some former child soldiers reintegrate more successfully into civil society than others? We attempt to understand this variation by looking at their personal experiences within the armed groups instead of focusing on the reintegration programme design. We hypothesise that, besides other factors, successful reintegration depends on the level of attachment felt towards the armed group. In other words, if a former child soldier feels a high level of attachment to the armed group, the reintegration process back into society might be more difficult. To examine this possible linkage, we examine a unique data set based on 66 interviews with Ugandan former child soldiers. Our analysis shows that those former child soldiers who still feel a higher level of trust towards the armed group are less likely to trust the members of their home community and feel accepted by them.