What is the political legacy of violent conflict? This paper presents evidence for a link between war, violence and increased individual political participation and leadership among former combatants and victims of violence, and uses this link to understand the deeper determinants of individual political behavior. The setting is northern Uganda, where rebel recruitment methods generated quasi-experimental variation in who became a rebel conscript and who did not. Original survey data shows that the exogenous element of conscription (by abduction) leads to significantly greater political participation later in life. The principal determinant of this increased political participation, moreover, appears to be war violence experienced. Meanwhile, abduction and violence do not appear to affect multiple non-political types of community participation. I show that these patterns are not easily explained by models of participation based on simple rational preferences, social preferences, mobilization by elites, or information availability. Only 'expressive' theories of participation appear consistent with the patterns observed, whereby exposure to violence augments the value a person places on the act of political expression itself. The implications for general theories of political participation are discussed.

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From Violence to Voting: War and Political Participation in Uganda

What is the political legacy of violent conflict? I present evidence for a link from past violence to increased political engagement among excombatants. The evidence comes from northern Uganda, where rebel recruitment generated quasiexperimental variation in who was conscripted by abduction. Survey data suggest that abduction leads to substantial increases in voting and community leadership, largely due to elevated levels of violence witnessed. Meanwhile, abduction and violence do not appear to affect nonpolitical participation. These patterns are not easily explained by conventional theories of participation, including mobilization by elites, differential costs, and altruistic preferences. Qualitative interviews suggest that violence may lead to personal growth and political activation, a possibility supported by psychological research on the positive effects of traumatic events. Although the generalizability of these results requires more evidence to judge, the findings challenge our understanding of political behavior and point to important new avenues of research.

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Since 1989, international efforts to end protracted conflicts have included sustained investments in the disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR) of combatants. Yet while policy analyst...

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Demobilization and Reintegration

If a lexicon were compiled of the greatest inhumanities man has visited on his fellows, the Holocaust would surely be the preeminent subject. The Nazi "final solution," promulgated in January 1942 at the Wansee Conference, was dedicated to the permanent eradication of Judaism. It was not a conceptual reshuffling of religious identity by conversion but rather a physical destruction. This genocidal purging was deemed a necessary program to rid the world, and more specifically the Aryan people, of the genetic reservoir of polluting Jewish genes.How this monstrous endeavor could be conceived and accomplished is the subject of Robert Jay Lifton's The Nazi Doctors. Dr Lifton, a renowned psychiatrist and author, spent a decade interviewing Nazi doctors and concentration camp survivors to piece together the horrifying process by which German physicians aided (for the most part willingly) in the destruction of 6 million innocent men, women, and children. Dr Lifton

The Nazi Doctors: Medical Killing and the Psychology of Genocide

In the past decade, nearly 20 studies have found a strong, persistent pattern in surveys and behavioral experiments from over 40 countries: individual exposure to war violence tends to increase social cooperation at the local level, including community participation and prosocial behavior. Thus while war has many negative legacies for individuals and societies, it appears to leave a positive legacy in terms of local cooperation and civic engagement. We discuss, synthesize and reanalyze the emerging body of evidence, and weigh alternative explanations. There is some indication that war violence especially enhances in-group or "parochial" norms and preferences, a finding that, if true, suggests that the rising social cohesion we document need not promote broader peace.

Can War Foster Cooperation

What are the impacts of war on the participants, and do they vary by gender? Are ex-combatants damaged pariahs who threaten social stability, as some fear? Existing theory and evidence are both inconclusive and focused on males. New data and a tragic natural quasi-experiment in Uganda allow us to estimate the impacts of war on both genders, and assess how war experiences affect reintegration success. As expected, violence drives social and psychological problems, especially among females. Unexpectedly, however, most women returning from armed groups reintegrate socially and are resilient. Partly for this reason, postconflict hostility is low. Theories that war conditions youth into violence find little support. Finally, the findings confirm a human capital view of recruitment: economic gaps are driven by time away from civilian education and labor markets. Unlike males, however, females have few civilian opportunities and so they see little adverse economic impact of recruitment.

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Civil War, Reintegration, and Gender in Northern Uganda:

The Survey for War Affected Youth (SWAY) is a research program dedicated to evidence-based humanitarian aid and development SWAY employs new data tools and analysis to improve the design and targeting of protection assistance and reintegration programs for youth in northern Uganda Youth have been both the primary victims and the primary actors in the protracted war between the Government of Uganda (GoU) and the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) It is not clear however exactly who is suffering how much and in what ways We also have little sense of the magnitude incidence and nature of the violence trauma and suffering of youth in northern Uganda Our understanding of the effects of war on women and girls is especially lacking whether they abducted or impacted in other ways Government and NGO officials admit that they have little sense of the true scale of the problems facing young women and the proportion of females facing particular vulnerabilities As a result programming is based on immediate and observable needs and possibly erroneous assumptions about who requires assistance and what assistance they need Likewise with only rough measures of well-being available targeting of services has been crude The overarching purpose of SWAY is to work with service providers to generate better evidence-based programming This report begins with a section describing methodology before proceeding to theme-focused sections As peace talks being brokered by the Government of Southern Sudan offer the prospect of an end to one of Africas longest conflicts we conclude by offering specific recommendations to the GoU and international and local agencies operating in northern Uganda (excerpt)

The state of female youth in northern Uganda: Findings from the Survey of War-Affected Youth (SWAY) Phase II.

The question "Where are the girls?" is seldom raised in discussions about children or adolescents who are members of fighting forces and groups. This is due in large part to the near exclusive focus on boy soldiers. Consequently, scant attention has been given to girls' active involvement and distinct experiences in these forces and groups, whether as combatants or noncombatants. The purpose of this article is to explicate the presence and experiences of girls in fighting forces and groups and some of the challenges they face after they leave these forces and groups and attempt to resume their lives within their communities. We use descriptive data gathered from a wide variety of organizational and scholarly reports to identify girls' involvement and roles in these forces and groups, detail how they are recruited and demobilized, and examine common physical and psychosocial effects of their participation. We contend that during and after armed conflicts, gender-specific physical and psychological impacts ...

Girls in fighting forces and groups: Their recruitment, participation, demobilization, and reintegration.

From Combat to Community: Women and Girls in Sierra Leone

Data from Uganda challenge conventional notions about the role of females during and after war. Women and girls recruited by the LRA play active roles and are not passive victims. We show how LRA treatment of females especially strict rules against civilian rape and the use of forced marriage serves an instrumental purpose, enhancing control of the forces and protection from HIV. Finally, in contrast to conventional beliefs, we find that only a minority of females exhibit serious psychosocial reintegration difficulties, whether psychological distress or persistent community and family rejection. Abduction also has little adverse impact on their education and economic activity, although this is largely because of the tragic dearth of opportunities for all females. Evidence from a growing set of cases suggests that these patterns may be of general relevance, and imply need for a shift in post-conflict policy towards females in war.

Khristopher Carlson

Papers

Civil War, Reintegration, and Gender in Northern Uganda:

The state of female youth in northern Uganda: Findings from the Survey of War-Affected Youth (SWAY) Phase II.

Girls in fighting forces and groups: Their recruitment, participation, demobilization, and reintegration.

From Combat to Community: Women and Girls in Sierra Leone

Women and Girls at War: Wives, Mothers, and Fighters in the Lord s Resistance Army