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An attempt to bring together a set of conceptual and theoretical issues related to the programming of the Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration Process for child soldiers in Sierra Leone. By questioning if the programmes have considered cultural and contextual specificities, this is a qualitative case study based in the text analysis of secondary data from a number of different researchers and practitioners from the field. The latter will be done by correlating conceptual and theoretical dilemmas based in the definition of child soldiers and their navigational skills, and will be analyzed under four topics chosen to present the cultural and contextual specificities of this case. Conclusions and recommendations will leave in evidence the fact that in the case of Sierra Leone, the DDR programme for children did not prioritize a cross- cultural approach and deliberately ignored navigational skills from former child soldiers, it delegitimized local initiatives for reintegration, failed in promoting a gender-sensitive component in the programme, and demonstrates a lack of cooperation between humanitarian and development agencies, which have been insistently westernized. The case of Sierra Leone is an interesting experience from which much can be learned, but mostly because it highlights the fact that each case is different and the urgency of considering the improvement of aid in a more individualized perspective.

Zugl.: Frankfurt (Main), Univ., Diss., 2006

Zugl.: Berlin, Humboldt-Univ., Diss., 2008

Zugl.: Berlin, Humboldt-Univ., Diss., 2008.

Bachelor-Arbeit Univ. St. Gallen, 2006.

Master of Arts / Department of Communication Studies / Sarah E. Riforgiate / Married military mothers are placed in a unique position where they have to navigate many tensions, including tensions between masculinity and femininity as well as tensions between the public sphere (work) and the private sphere (home). When military mothers who are married deploy and are physically separated from the home, shifts in household and family roles occur. Upon return from deployment, married military mothers have to communicate with their spouses to reestablish and renegotiate their domestic and childcare roles. Therefore, considering distinctive challenges and experiences faced by married military women with children, this qualitative analysis provides an in-depth look at married military mothers’ subjective experiences using the concept of role dialectics. The analysis of 11 in-depth interviews with married military mothers indicates that roles and responsibilities are negotiated communicatively, drawing on expectations in various interactions. Expectations are communicated nonverbally by relying on gendered roles, past experiences, and nonverbal cues. Verbally expectations are communicated to reassume, coordinate, learn, divide and resolve roles and responsibilities. Regardless of the verbal or nonverbal communication strategies, all military mothers actively resumed traditionally gendered roles and responsibilities post-deployment when negotiating gender role tensions. This study enhances understanding of communication patterns used by married military mothers to negotiate roles and responsibilities throughout the deployment cycle. Moreover, the researcher offers guidance on effective communication practices to help married military mothers navigate tensions and provide families with constructive strategies for post-deployment. Results also contribute to a larger body of work/life literature on mothers in the military, especially pertaining to deployments, while advancing the concept of role dialectics.

The purpose of this dissertation is to evaluate the current state of literature surrounding childhood and child agency, and how dominant notions of these concepts result in practical implications pertaining to the nature of the participation of former child soldiers in post-conflict reintegration programmes. As the literature and practice surrounding children in post-conflict environments currently stands, there is a recurring preoccupation with traditional notions of childhood which uphold notions of innocence, vulnerability, and dependency, with only minimal attempts to conceptualise child agency as a crucial factor once the guns have been put down. This ultimately results in former child soldiers being dealt with as objects to be secured, as opposed to fully-fledged participants and agents in their own reintegration processes. This research thereby seeks to answer the question: “How would the formulation of a normative framework of child agency alter the orientation of post-conflict reintegration programmes in the future?” The researcher will engage the matter of child agency in post-conflict reintegration through a critical lens, both in terms of the literary and conceptual foundations contributing towards current narratives, as well as the current state of reintegration programmes as they target former child soldiers in northern Uganda. The qualitative approach of a critical literature review, followed by a critical analysis of the case of northern Uganda, will be employed as the key methods of this research. The literature to be used will be purposively sampled secondary sources. This mini-dissertation upholds the position that, in order for post-conflict reintegration programmes to be successful in their endeavour to reintegrate former child soldiers, children should not be rendered as peripheral actors in these processes. Rather, they should be present as key participatory agents in their own right. / Mini Dissertation (MSS)--University of Pretoria, 2020. / Political Sciences / MSS / Unrestricted

With prison populations on the rise, it is imperative to find re-entry programs that effectively decrease recidivism. Understanding the experiences of participants and the criminogenic factors that provoke and prohibit their successful reintegration is a vital aspect of evaluating re-entry programs. With sixteen in-depth interviews, this study evaluates the pilot re-entry program, RealVictory, by exploring the opinions and experiences of its participants including the key criminogenic factors affecting their successes and failures during the reintegration process. The two most pervasive criminogenic factors affecting recidivism for participants of this study were support systems and desire to change. While both the control and treatment groups had three members rearrested since they were last out of jail or prison, we find that re-arrest isn't necessarily the best measure of program success despite the common use of this measure in quantitative studies (Seiter, 2003). All participants who went through the RealVictory program reported that the program was effective in helping them to stay out of crime.