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Introduction Child soldiers, iconography and the (il)logic of extremes

Definitions and ambiguities: Defining 'child soldiers'

(Mis)undrrstanding militarized children: Portrayals and representations

The making and unmaking of child soldiers

Overview of the book

1 Children's involvement in war: The quandary of structure and agency

The contemporary reality of child soldiers

Child soldiers and structural forces

Child soldiers and agency

Child soldiers and the quandary of structure and agency

2 Recipe for rebellion: Civil war in Sierra Leone

Understanding war in Sierra Leone

The emergence of the Revolutionary United Front

Tracing war (1991-2002) and the long path to peace

3 Negotiating power: Research on and by child soldiers

On power, sensitive research and a participatory approach

Participant recruitment, data collection and analysis

Assessing a participatory approach

4 'Becoming RUF': The making of a child soldier

Pathway into violence and armed conflict

Reshaping reality and 'becoming RUF': Solidarity, role allocation and rewards

Understanding the RUF militarization process: Constructing a culture of violence

5 'Being RUF': Victimization, participation and resistance

Experiences of violence and armed conflict

'Being RUF': Identity construction in the culture of violence

6 'Put dey gon don': The unmaking of a child soldier

Pathways out of violence and armed conflict

Reshaping reality and 'becoming a civilian': Demilitarization and the process of unmaking

7 New battlefields

Structure and agency in the making and unmaking of child soldiers

Ambiguity, sweet sorrow and political action: The continued process of unmaking in post-conflict Sierra Leone

Looking ahead: The needs of former child soldiers and the integration of structure and agency

References

Index