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URI [dataset] UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES DEPARTMENT OF POLITICS AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS An exploration of the post-conflict integration of children born in captivity living in the Lord’s Resistance Army war-affected areas of Uganda by EUNICE AKULLO Thesis for the degree of a Doctor of Philosophy in Politics and International Relations [NOVEMBER, 2019] UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON ABSTRACT FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES DEPARTMENT OF POLITICS AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS Thesis for the degree of a Doctor of Philosophy in Politics and International Relations An exploration of the post-conflict integration of children born in captivity living in the Lord’s Resistance Army war-affected areas of Uganda EUNICE AKULLO This thesis explores the extent to which existing national transitional justice policy frameworks structuring reintegration and integration interventions enable the effective or successful integration of children born in captivity (CBIC) in Uganda. These children were born to females subjected to ‘forced marriage’ to Lord’s Resistance Army soldiers while in captivity. Now living among the post-conflict communities of integration, the CBIC experience unresolved problems of stigma and discrimination. The thesis attributes part of the reason for this to a failure to distinguish between integration and reintegration as distinct processes in both academic analysis, policy and practice. Therefore, this thesis argues the need to distinguish between the processes, and contributes by developing a framework that can help the understanding of integration as experienced by Uganda’s CBIC. Secondly, the thesis responds to the scarcity of information on how reparation can address the plight of these children by suggesting a broad approach. This approach would enable both recognition and redistribution in response to the integration plight of CBIC living in Uganda. Therefore, this thesis has implications for academia, policy and practice. Empirical research was conducted among three post-conflict communities in Uganda using a combination of qualitative research methods in in-depth fieldwork that explored the integration of these children. The findings were analysed using qualitative content analysis and the outcomes presented in two sets of empirical chapters – one on integration and the other on reparations claims for these children. The empirical chapters from the three sub-regions consulted reflect the relevance of ensuring effective or successful integration for both CBIC and post-conflict communities of integration. The thesis concludes with the claim that, in fragile contexts where suitable transitional justice options for CBIC are not considered or adopted, existing policy and programme interventions encourage only a ‘shallow and unsustainable integration’. This requires a distinct conceptualisation and response to integration to enable the interventions to respond to the specificities of CBIC as beneficiaries of the process. By contrast, when reparations address the needs of CBIC, they foster recognition and redistribution, thereby leading to an improvement in integration towards a deep and sustainable state. Table of Contents Table of Contents Table of Contents ..................................................................................................................... i Table of Figures .................................................................................................................... vii List of Accompanying Materials .................................................................................... ix Academic Thesis: Declaration Of Authorship ........................................................ xi Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ xiii Abbreviations .......................................................................................................................... xv Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 1 Why the recognition of integration as a distinct process is important ....4 Thesis Argument 1 .................................................................................8 Thesis Argument 2 .................................................................................8 Note on the researcher and the research ...............................................9 Significance of this study ..................................................................... 11 Chapter outlines ................................................................................... 15 Chapter 1: Contextualising the Integration of Uganda’s Children Born in Captivity ....................................................................................... 19 1.1 Introduction ................................................................................... 19 1.2 Historical context of the emergence of children born in captivity .. 20 1.3 Interventions against the Lord’s Resistance Army ......................... 24 1.4 Policy and programme interventions .............................................. 26 1.5 Conclusion ...................................................................................... 38 Chapter 2: The Conceptualisation of Children Born in Captivity and Theoretical Frameworks for Analysing Their Integration .................................................................................................... 41 2.1 Introduction ................................................................................... 41 2.2 Literature on children born in captivity .......................................... 43 2.2.1 Children born of war in Uganda ............................................... 44 2.2.2 The conceptualisation of children born in captivity .................. 45 2.3 Approaches and frameworks for analysing integration and /or reintegration ............................................................................... 52 i 2.3.1 Integration vis-à-vis reintegration .......................................... 53 2.3.2 Agency in theoretically grounded models of integration and/or reintegration ........................................................................... 55 2.4 Rights-based approaches and the protection of children born of conflict-related sexual violence .................................................. 58 2.5 Transitional justice for children born in captivity ........................... 67 2.5.1 The place of children born of conflict-related sexual violence in transitional justice .................................................................. 72 2.5.2 Reparations to children born of conflict-related sexual violence73 2.6 Human security approach .............................................................. 78 An ‘extended vital core’ approach .................................................... 81 2.7 Conclusion ..................................................................................... 89 Chapter 3: Research Design and Methodology .......................................... 93 3.1 Introduction .................................................................................... 93 3.2 Participatory (research with) vis-à-vis non-participatory (research about) children. .......................................................................... 94 3.3 Researching vulnerable and hidden populations .............................. 95 3.4 Qualitative case study design .......................................................... 97 3.5 Sample and sampling procedure ................................................. 102 3.6 Research methods ....................................................................... 104 3.7 Reflexive account from the field journal/ diary ............................ 110 3.8 Ethical concerns in researching children born in captivity ........... 117 3.9 Research data analysis ................................................................ 125 3.10 Limitations of the study ............................................................. 129 3.10 Conclusion ................................................................................. 130 Chapter 4: The Integration of Children Born in Captivity Living in Acholi .............................................................................................................. 131 4.1 Introduction ................................................................................. 131 4.2 Overview of Acholi sub-region ....................................................