The Power of Narratives in Transforming Ex-Combatants into Peacebuilders: Evidence from Somalia

Last registered on January 13, 2025

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
The Power of Narratives in Transforming Ex-Combatants into Peacebuilders: Evidence from Somalia
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0015154
Initial registration date
January 12, 2025

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
January 13, 2025, 2:06 PM EST

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

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Primary Investigator

Affiliation
Musashi University

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Affiliation
University of Essex
PI Affiliation
National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies
PI Affiliation
The University of Oxford

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2024-12-28
End date
2025-12-31
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
This study examines the potential of narrative-based interventions to transform former combatants into peacebuilders, with a focus on promoting social integration and de-radicalization. Conducted across four rehabilitation centers in Somalia, the research targets individuals who voluntarily disengaged from Al-Shabaab, a jihadist group responsible for significant violence in Africa. Participants are randomly assigned to one of two groups, with one receiving tailored content that emphasizes their potential roles as peacebuilders. Over eight weeks, both groups engage in structured rehabilitation sessions, followed by comprehensive data collection, including surveys and natural language processing analyses. The study hypothesizes that framing former combatants as agents of peace enhances their reintegration into society, fosters pro-social attitudes, and mitigates extremist tendencies. By addressing key challenges like stigmatization, re-recruitment, and psychological trauma, this research seeks to provide evidence-based insights into innovative approaches for post-conflict recovery and counter-extremism efforts.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Goto, Jun et al. 2025. "The Power of Narratives in Transforming Ex-Combatants into Peacebuilders: Evidence from Somalia." AEA RCT Registry. January 13. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.15154-1.0
Sponsors & Partners

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Common feature across two groups:
- An 8-session rehabilitation program over two months, where one session lasts 45 minutes each week.
- The rehabilitation program is designed to promote social re-integration.

In addition to the core component, one group receive contents that repeatedly emphasize that subjects can take a role of peacebuilder.
Intervention Start Date
2025-01-13
Intervention End Date
2025-03-03

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Self-reported measures on:
- Perceived valuation in peacebuilding
- Empathy to others
- Preference for violence
- Social roles
- Prospect to the future

Machine learning measures analyzing open-ended questions to detect degree of radicalization toward Islamic extremism and motives for social reintegration
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Self-reported measures on:
- Satisfaction to past and present life
- Preference of leaving the rehabilitation centers

Self-reported measures collected repeatedly after each session:
- Understanding of the materials
- Whether participants feel the session meaningful
- Evaluation of the session
- Whether participants want to recommend the program or not
- Whether participants want to reflect session contents to daily life
- Whether participants are motivated or not
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Every subjects will participate in an 8-session rehabilitation program over two months, where we have one session lasting 45 minutes each week. All subjects are randomly assigned to one of two groups. Randomization is stratified by rehabilitation center level. That is, the number of subjects by the treatment group is balanced in each rehabilitation center.
The core component of the rehabilitation program is designed to promote social re-integration, which is common across two groups. In addition to the core component, one group receive contents that repeatedly emphasize that subjects can take a role of peacebuilder. Only for the Group 2, sessions will contain peace-building messages. Except this peace-building messages, contents and the length of each session is exactly the same. Instructors belong to each rehabilitation centers. Instructors of each session is rotated every two weeks across Group 1 and Group 2 to avoid instructor specific effect contaminates the results.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
randomization done in office by a computer
Randomization Unit
individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
256 individuals
Sample size: planned number of observations
256 individuals
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
128 individuals group 1 (Rehabilitation Program only)
128 individuals group 2 (Rehabilitation Program + Peacebuilder Messages)
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
A sample of 256 individuals is sufficient to detect effect size of 0.35 SD for Group 1 vs. Group 2 with 80% power. Note that this is almost the universe of available defectors in Somalia as of January 2025.
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
National Graduate Institute of Policy Studies
IRB Approval Date
2024-11-01
IRB Approval Number
2024NV0011
Analysis Plan

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