Community counts: The social reintegration of ex-combatants in Colombia

Abstract

What explains the social reintegration of ex-combatants from armed conflicts? Community-level programs to reintegrate ex-combatants into society are based on the theory that the participation of ex-combatants in their communities can promote reconciliation and minimize recidivism to illegal activities. We evaluate community and security-related opportunities for and constraints on social reintegration using a survey of ex-combatants from Colombia. We find that ex-combatants in more participatory communities tend to have an easier time with social reintegration and feel less of a need to organize among themselves. These findings suggest that to help ex-combatants, reintegration processes should also work to improve the social vibrancy of receptor communities.

Can Crime Foster Social Participation as Conflict Can?*

“…Whereas a theory of individual coping is transferable to other cases, we cannot assume that different contexts produce the same opportunities for participation (Kaplan and Nussio, ). Also, within one and the same context, the opportunity structure in areas affected by conflict might not be the same as in those areas affected by delinquency.…”

Reconciliation sentiment among former perpetrators of violence during the Colombian armed conflict

“…This result was consistent with the findings of Trujillo et al () that a substantial minority of excombatants in the Colombian conflict may suffer from a lack of empathy, and was reminiscent of the previous findings of Menezes Fonseca, Neto, and Mullet (), that it is particularly difficult for homicide offenders to trust and forgive other people. Kaplan and Nussio () also pointed out that personal dispositions (namely, preference for a violent lifestyle) may play a major role in Colombian excombatants' level of recidivism.…”

“…The first aim of the present study was to assess the robustness and the cross‐cultural validity of the RSQ using a completely different sample of former perpetrators of violence: former paramilitaries and former members of the guerillas who were detained in rehabilitations centers because they had committed crimes during the Colombian armed conflict. The second aim was to complement the RSQ by introducing additional items that referred to fear of revenge by the victims and by members of the general population because fear of revenge was a common concern among these former perpetrators (Mortensen, ) given that many excombatants had been the victims of violence (Kaplan & Nussio, ). The third aim was to assess the relationship between reconciliation sentiment and (a) relevant demographic characteristics such as being married or not, (b) perceived health variables such as emotional problems, and (c) attendance at resocialization and/or restorative programs (Instituto Nacional Penitenciario y Carcelario, ) during detention in rehabilitation centers.…”

“…Our first hypothesis was that the two‐factor structure that was found in previous studies would also be found among former belligerents in the Colombian conflicts. Our second hypothesis was that reconciliation sentiment scores would be associated with (a) demographic variables such as being married or not or receiving frequent visits or not (Kaplan & Nussio, ), (b) perceived health (Mukashema & Mullet, , ), and (c) voluntary attendance at rehabilitation programs (Kaplan & Nussio, ). We also had one research question: would the additional revenge‐related items form a third separate factor or integrate themselves into the already identified two‐factor structure?…”

Atypical Modulations of N170 Component during Emotional Processing and Their Links to Social Behaviors in Ex-combatants

“…They represent a non-clinical group with well-documented impairments in EP (Tobón et al, 2015; Quintero-Zea et al, 2017; Trujillo et al, 2017). Ex-combatants typically display diminished empathic expressions (McCarroll et al, 2010; Slep et al, 2010), increased levels of aggression and violence (Jakupcak et al, 2007; Taft et al, 2007; Gallaway et al, 2012), high proportion of a wide variety of mental disorders (Taft et al, 2007; Weierstall et al, 2013; Kaplan and Nussio, 2015, 2016) as well as high emotional reactivity reflected via emotion related ERP components (IAPS; Lang et al, 1988; Tobón et al, 2015). …”