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This paper explores community perceptions about traditional authorities’ roles during the disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) of former combatants. We have selected the case of Somalia, where both government institutions and traditional authorities have partnered with international actors and institutions, as well as non-governmental organisations (NGOs), to prevent and counter violent extremism (P/CVE). International actors have related to traditional authorities based on the assumption that these actors wield a kind of social power that facilitates the reintegration of former members of the violent extremist organisation al-Shabaab. Based on mixed methodology research we explain social reintegration in Somalia from the community perspective, and find that P/CVE programmes are expressive of co-optation of traditional authorities. We make the case that ‘risk coping’ helps explain why a majority of civilians prefer the government-led formal reintegration pathway of ex-combatants to the traditional authorities pathway. We conclude by discussing the implications that this has for NGOs/INGOs active in this P/CVE sector.

IN THIS BRIEF, we investigate what forms of protection of civilians (PoC) provided bypeacekeepers that enjoy more support thanothers. We compare peacekeepers’ perceived level of proactive engagement, with the expectations and demands from local populations. We find that civilians who are at risk prefer peacekeepers who show resolve in protecting civilians, and their support is based on assessments of robustness., Has been peer reviewed by scholars with a PhD and has integrated feedback by FBA's research working group on peacekeeping operations at various international workshops and conferences. Builds on rigorous empirical methods including experimental surveys.