ABSTRACT
This chapter presents varied and detailed descriptions of the meanings attached to abandoning the militancy of a politically violent organisation. It looks at the reasons militants gave for ending their commitment to politically motivated violence, at the incentives for and obstacles against reaching such a decision, and at the pathways they subsequently took. Disengagement from a politically violent organisation is a very complex process. Disengagement processes, across the different organisations under analysis, were triggered by three main factors: achievement of collective goals; personal and/or organisational issues; and arrest. The chapter explores former militants' meaning-making processes regarding their disengagement from politically violent organisations. It also explores two aspects of militants' disengagement from a politically violent organisation: ending their commitment to the organisation and the process of reworking the past in the present. The chapter examines the former militants' reintegration into mainstream society.
