The Biopolitics of Peacebuilding: Analyzing Rehabilitation Paradigms for Child Soldiers in the DRC

Global Journal of Peace and Conflict Studies | Vol. 2, No. 4, April 2011 | pp. 27–35

DOI: 10.46882/2011/GJPCS/000023

Research Article

The Biopolitics of Peacebuilding: Analyzing Rehabilitation Paradigms for Child Soldiers in the DRC

Jean-Luc Mukendi¹

¹Department of Psychology, University of Kinshasa, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Abstract: Reintegration policies for child soldiers frequently rely on universal western psychological frameworks that conflict with local cultural cosmologies. This study evaluates the efficacy of demobilization and psychological rehabilitation paradigms utilized in the eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Using a mixed-methods approach, data were gathered from 350 former child combatants aged 14 to 22 across four treatment centers. Quantitative clinical indices indicated that standard cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) frameworks reduced immediate post-traumatic stress symptoms by only 22% (p > 0.05). Conversely, integrating traditional community-led cleansing rituals with vocational apprenticeships reduced social isolation indicators by a factor of 3.4 ± 0.5. Qualitative focus groups revealed that universal human rights discourse often fails to address local social stigmas associated with combat violence. The data demonstrates that structural economic survival is a stronger predictor of successful social reintegration than psychological processing alone. The study emphasizes restructuring DDR allocations away from short-term clinical camps toward long-term communal economic support networks.

Keywords: child soldiers, biopolitics, DRC conflict, DDR programs, rehabilitation paradigms, social stigma

Manuscript Timeline: Received December 10, 2010; Revised January 26, 2011; Accepted March 02, 2011; Published April 09, 2011.

Citation: Mukendi, J. L. (2011). The Biopolitics of Peacebuilding: Analyzing Rehabilitation Paradigms for Child Soldiers in the DRC. Global Journal of Peace and Conflict Studies, 2(4), 27–35. DOI: 10.46882/2011/GJPCS/000023

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