War veterans oft en constitute a specifi c category of citizens as they inspire and bring forward particular claims on recognition and resources of the state. Th e authors featured in this special section each explore pr ocesses of the construction of categories of war veterans in diff erent contemporary contexts. Drawing on ethnographic data, the contributions explore the interactions between (those identifi ed) as war veterans and the state, and the processes concerned with granting value to participation in war. Th is involves (the denial of) rights and privileges as well as a process of identity construction. Th e construction of war veterans as a specifi c kind of citizens is a political phenomenon, subject to negotiation and contestation, involving both the external categorizations of war veterans as well as the self-making and identity politics from former fighters "from below."