Seeing DDR from Below

Disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) programming has become an integral element of national and international programming in countries transitioning from conflict. Yet the extent to which DDR has been an effective tool to achieve security and development goals remains unclear. The impact of DDR on a micro-level – that is, on the lives of individual ex-combatants – is also poorly understood. This New Security Programme Policy Brief builds on research conducted among DDR participants in Monrovia, Liberia to identify various areas of concern, challenges, and unintended consequences that should be taken into consideration in the design and implementation of future United Nations DDR projects. Its findings and recommendations aim to assist policymakers and practitioners in devising DDR programming that is more attuned to the challenges posed, and faced, by rank-and-file former fighters, as well as the societies of which they are a part.