How do former combatants participate in peacetime politics? Johanna Söderström problematises the notion that ex-fighters pose a threat to political stability. Instead, she argues that an individual analysis of the form and content of participation permits a more nuanced depiction of former combatants in post-conflict politics. Drawing on extensive focus group interviews she finds that former fighters in the West African state of Liberia engage in a politics of affection. To develop a more comprehensive meaning of political integration in a post-conflict democracy, the research pays close attention to former combatants’ political involvement, expressions of antagonism, tolerance of dissent, and perspectives on inclusion.

A brutal civil war wracked Liberia from 1989 to 2003. Estimates on the number of armed combatants vary widely, but in the aftermath of the conflict Disarmament, Demobilisation, and Reintegration (DDR) programmes assisted over 100,000 former fighters. In a country with a current population of 4·3 million, these ex-combatants presented a potentially major force in post-conflict politics. Söderström's interviews with former-fighters, only four years after the cessation of hostilities and two years after the first post-conflict election, expose a remarkable shift from the politics of the gun to politics of the ballot.

Former Liberian combatants reported a wide range of political activities from voting to campaigning to engaging non-governmental channels such as community radio. Participants expressed scepticism about political actors and institutions given the brutal history of Liberian politics: former fighters do not always trust the electoral process or campaign promises. Nevertheless, their discussions reflect the hope that their voices will be heard. Former fighters described both a reciprocal or familial relationship with politics and political leaders and a respect for hierarchy. They disavowed forms of political involvement that risked a return to violence, including street protest. The failure of opposition politics to lead to peaceful change in the past remained vivid for one participant: ‘those criticisms brought a whole lot of noise, it brought whole lot of demonstration, it led people to death’ (p. 125). Many former fighters value stability more than dissent.

Söderström's analysis shows that the rhetoric of inter-ethnic competition and violence has left an imprint on former fighters’ conceptions of citizenship. The chapter on inclusion was a welcome discussion of the continued role of social cleavages in the post-conflict period. Given the historical role of ethnic identity in Liberian politics, the focus groups reveal former fighters to be remarkably inclusive. Yet ethnic identities remain a powerful, but malleable, political force. Such a frank and diverse conversation about the real boundaries of political inclusion has implications for other states that face similar questions about post-conflict citizenship.

The strength of this study lies in its rich data. The voices of the former fighters shine through the text, creating a nuanced portrait of individual political actors often caricatured as violent and childlike in other contexts. The sections on the logic, methods and analysis of socially situated data collection, including details on the recruitment and composition of the focus groups, are exceptional in their clarity. Skilful contrast of points of agreement and disagreement within focus groups, as well as comparisons across discussions, help to validate unusual and counterintuitive findings.

Some questions remain unanswered. Variation in the combatant experience (both between individuals and across armed groups) is not extensively discussed. The reader is left wondering how participation in and experiences of violence affect individuals beyond preliminary evidence that ex-combatants are more politically involved than the rest of the population. Answering this question in detail might require more comparisons with non-combatants, including discussions with those who did not fight, but who nevertheless endured high levels of violence. Such an inquiry could be a fruitful avenue for future work. This book explores foundations of peacebuilding: What does it mean to be a citizen after war? How should we tolerate political dissent in the aftermath of conflict? What constitutes political integration? Investigating these themes with civilians affected by violence could lead to important and complementary lessons about the legacy of war and building sustainable peace in fragile states.