Disarming the Past – Transitional Justice and Ex–Combatants

For the past twenty years, international donors have invested heavily in large-scale disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR) programs, while, at the same time, transitional justice measures have proliferated, bringing truth, justice, and reparations to those recovering from state violence and civil war. Yet DDR programs are seldom deconstructed to discover whether they truly achieve their justice-related aims. Additionally, transitional justice mechanisms rarely articulate strategies for coordinating with DDR. Disarming the Past examines the connections—and failures—between these two initiatives within peacebuilding contexts and evaluates future links between DDR programs and the aims of transitional justice. The outcome of a substantial research project initiated by the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ), this book is crucial for anyone interested in effective interventions and enduring outcomes.

Ana Cutter Patel is deputy director of the International Policymakers Unit at the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) and project manager for the Center's research initiative on transitional justice and disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration. She is the author of "DDR and Transitional Justice," a module in the Uniited Nations's Integrated Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration Standards, among other publications.

Pablo de Greiff is director of research at ICTJ. A former associate professor of philosophy at SUNY Buffalo and Laurance S. Rockefeller Fellow at the Center for Human Values, Princeton University, he is the editor of nine books, including Transitional Justice and Development: Making Connections and The Handbook of Reparations.

Lars Waldorf is senior lecturer in international human rights law at the Centre for Applied Human Rights and York Law School, University of York. A former researcher in Rwanda for Human Rights Watch, he has authored and coedited numerous publications, including the Localizing Transitional Justice: Interventions and Priorities After Mass Violence.