DDR and child soldiers

The object of this Master's thesis is to investigate the role of Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration of former child soldiers in the conflict of Sierra Leone. Even though extensive research has been carried out in the direct aftermath of the conflict, thus in the immediate subsequent years, few researchers focused on the long-term effects and effectiveness of the implementation of such programs. The first chapter examines the concept of peacebuilding, starting from its first definitions until the latest evolutions, the main actors, and the practices tied to it. The literature review concerning the various issues stemming from the experience of child soldiering is found in Chapter 2 of the thesis. Chapter 3 outlines the methodology we used to investigate our research question while Chapter 4 illustrates the analysis we conducted. The findings led to the conclusion that DDR programs are effective in the short-term, but this notion cannot be transposed into the long run. Thus, programs should include a long-term strategy focusing more on the psychological sphere of former combatants. Keywords Peacebuilding, Post-Conflict Reconstruction, DDR, Child Soldiers, Sierra Leone, Reintegration Title DDR and Child Soldiers: Reintegration of Child Soldiers of the Sierra Leonian Conflic