PhD-forsvar om Liberias unge krigere

Time: Wednesday 15 December at 1 pm (kl. 13) – The doors will be closed at exactly 1 pm

Venue: Faculty of Humanities – 23.0.50, Njalsgade 120, Amager 2300 Kbn S

Assessment Committee:

* Associate Professor Mogens Pelt (Chairman) University of Copenhagen
* Associate Professor Bodil Folke Frederiksen, Roskilde University
* Associate Professor Mats Utas, Uppsala University

Time: Wednesday 15 December at 1 pm (kl. 13) – The doors will be closed at exactly 1 pm

Venue: Faculty of Humanities – 23.0.50, Njalsgade 120, Amager 2300 Kbn S

Assessment Committee:

* Associate Professor Mogens Pelt (Chairman) University of Copenhagen
* Associate Professor Bodil Folke Frederiksen, Roskilde University
* Associate Professor Mats Utas, Uppsala University

Moderator of the defence: Associate Professor Søren Ivarsson, University of Copenhagen

Copies of the thesis are available for consultation at the following three places: at the Information Desk of the Library of the Faculty of Humanities; in Reading Room East of the Royal Library (the Black Diamond); and at the Saxo Institute, Njalsgade 80, 2300 Copenhagen S.

Se også http://www.diis.dk/sw101905.asp

PhD Defense:
Questioning Ex-Combatant Reintegration in Liberia.Armed mobilization, localized histories of conflict. and the power of labels

Jairo Munive Rincon

English resume
The dissertation examines the Liberian Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration process (commonly known as DDRR) of combatants launched by the United Nations after the end of the war in 2003.

The dissertation describes how the DDRR process established, in spite of its weaknesses, a new relationship of governance between ‘ex-combatants’, the Liberian state and the international community.

It identifies as one of the main problems of the DDRR the unintended side-effect that it reinforced the blurring of the categories ‘civilian’ and ‘combatant’ due to the mobilization of many newcomers into the DDRR process.

The DDRR program launched in Liberia did not sufficiently account for the complex realities of armed mobilization. By exploring how reintegration in Liberia has evolved from policy to praxis, I have identified issues of contention, friction and unintended effects.

The process of disarming combatants was paradoxically also a process of ‘mobilization’, whereby commanders mobilized fighters and civilians into the program.

Dansk Resume

Afhandlingen undersøger den liberianske afvæbnings-, demobiliserings- og reintegrationsproces (DDRR), sat i gang af FN efter (borger)krigens afslutning i 2003.

I afhandlingen viser jeg, hvorledes DDRR-processen trods sine svagheder etablerede et nyt forhold mellem tidligere kombattanter, den liberianske stat og internationale aktører.

Jeg identificerer som et af de største problemer for DDRR processen, at den havde uplanlagte bivirkninger – vigtigst en yderligere svækkelse af de allerede vagt definerede kategorier ”civile” og ”kombattanter” på grund af mobiliseringen af mange nye ind i DDRR processen.

Liberias DDRR program tog ikke i tilstrækkelig grad højde for mobiliseringens komplekse realiteter.

Igennem undersøgelsen af, hvordan reintegrationen i Liberia udviklede sig fra politik til praksis, har jeg identificeret områder hvor der er uenigheder, friktion og uplanlagte effekter.

Demobiliseringsprocessen var paradoksalt nok også en ”mobiliseringsproces”, hvorigennem højtstående officerer kunne mobilisere kombattanter og civile som deltagere i programmet.