Since 2007 I have conducted a longitudinal study of Sierra Leone’s ex-combatants and their experience of Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR), giving particular attention to the neglected area of political integration. Drawing on interviews with former rebel and pro-government combatants, I have published a series of journal articles for this project, listed below.
I have also researched and written on the neglected links between reintegration and reconciliation, examining the appropriateness (or otherwise) of formal transitional justice mechanisms in Sierra Leone and critically exploring notions of ‘deep’ and ‘shallow’ reconciliation.
- ‘A Pragmatic Pact: Reconciliation and Reintegration in Sierra Leone’, in Kirsten Ainley, Rebekka Friedman & Chris Mahony (eds) Evaluating Transitional Justice: Accountability and Peacebuilding in Post-Conflict Sierra Leone (London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015)
- ‘Where is the War? Explaining Peace in Sierra Leone.’ International Peacekeeping, Vol. 30, Issue 3, 2013.
- ‘Rearmament, Remobilisation and Disintegration in Sierra Leone.’Conflict Security and Development Research Group, King’s College London (2010).
- ‘Engaging disengagement: The political reintegration of Sierra Leone’s Revolutionary United Front’ in Reintegrating Armed Groups after Conflict: Politics, Violence and Transition, Mats Berdal & David Ucko, eds. (Abingdon: Routledge, May 2009).
- ‘Reconstructing Trust in Sierra Leone.’
The Round Table, Volume 98, Issue 403, August 2009 - ‘Engaging Disengagement: The Political Reintegration of Sierra Leone’s
Revolutionary United Front.’
Conflict, Security and Development, Volume 8, Issue 2, June 2008
Image © Kieran Mitton: Sign of the rejuvenated RUFP, the political party of the former Revolutionary United Front rebels, Freetown, Sierra Leone, 12 April 2012.
Kieran Mitton 