ABSTRACT
Ethiopia’s latest round of demobilization and reintegration was undertaken in comparatively unusual circumstances. Because it followed on the heels of an inter-state armed conflict with Eritrea rather than a civil war, former soldiers were popularly regarded as heroes to be celebrated rather than former enemies to be feared. Moreover, the damage caused by the war was more or less restricted to the border areas with Eritrea, with comparatively limited damage to the national economic and social fabric.1 As it was a relatively short and brutal conventional war between organized armies, recruits were not away from their homes and land for prolonged periods of time. Such an experience stands in stark contrast to most other protracted armed conflicts in Africa that are largely internal, waged by irregular forces and highly destructive to households and communities.
