Table of Contents

List of Figures and Tables List of Acronyms Preface Acknowledgments Introduction 1. Youth in Sierra Leone 2. Child Protection Deployed 3. Learning "Child Soldier" across Contexts 4. Informal Reintegrators, Communities, and NGOs 5. Distinctions in the Population of "Child Soldiers": RUF and CDF, Boys and Girls Conclusion Notes ReferencesIndex About the Author

About the Author

Susan Shepler is Associate Professor of International Peace and Conflict Resolution in the School of International Service at American University in Washington D.C.

Reviews

"Essential reading for everyone who cares about the reintegration of young people who have associated with armed forces or groups. With the eye of a skilled anthropologist, Susan Shepler illuminates the enormity of the gap between Western understandings of childhood, recruitment, and reintegration and the lived experiences, beliefs, and values of young people as they navigate the complexities of post-conflict Sierra Leone."-Mike Wessells, Columbia University "Drawing on detailed ethnographic research, this compelling account of the complex forces shaping young people's reintegration following the war in Sierra Leone is an essential read for anyone interested in the social impacts of globalization, the changing nature of childhood or the challenges of intervening in societies after conflict."-Jo Boyden, University of Oxford