Flat-Pack Reintegration? National Ownership, Promises and Flaws in Cameroon’s Disarmament and Demobilization Program for Ex-Boko Haram Combatants

Abstract

This article examines the Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR) program in Cameroon, focusing on former Boko Haram combatants. Based on qualitative research from December 2020 to January 2022, this study includes 37 interviews with former combatants and DDR administrators in three Cameroonian cities. It analyzes the challenges of the national ownership of the DDR programs, emphasizing the role of middle-range actors and local practices in enhancing reintegration efforts. The research highlights the complexities of the DDR process and the need for a coherent framework integrating interdisciplinary insights. By proposing a conceptual framework of dissociation and examining how national appropriation, understood as the process through which state actors take ownership of and implement instruments designed externally, is constructed and enacted, this article aims to contribute to the development of more nuanced, context-sensitive DDR programs tailored to the specific challenges of diverse post-conflict environments.