Youth in Conflict and Peacebuilding: Mobilization, Reintegration and Reconciliation (Rethinking Political Violence)

This study investigates the role of youth in peacebuilding, and addresses the failure of states and existing research to recognise youths as political actors, which can result in their contribution to peacebuilding being ignored. Youth in Conflict and Peacebuilding gives weight to the role of youth in peacebuilding, with specific reference to the processes of mobilisation, reintegration and reconciliation. Ozerdem and Podder reject the pejorative notion of youth as a security threat, a notion that still pervades the literature and practice of peacebuilding. The main objective of this study is, therefore, to provide a new conceptualisation of youth as a harbinger of peace, whether at an international or local level. By adopting a multi-disciplinary approach that identifies key themes in the analysis of its two main case studies of Liberia and Mindanao in the Philippines, this study maps out the debate surrounding the role of youth in post-conflict environments and draws from a wide range of cross-cultural examples. The failure to recognise youths as political actors can result in their contribution to peacebuilding being ignored, wasted and, at best, under-utilised. In recognising their agency as legitimate political actors, Ozerdem and Podder address the need for a comprehensive understanding of their valuable contribution to peacebuilding Front Matter....Pages i-xviii Introduction: Combatants, Troublemakers, Peacebuilders or What?....Pages 1-12 Processes of Mobilization....Pages 13-37 Experiences of Reintegration....Pages 38-77 Reconciliation Challenges....Pages 78-101 Liberia....Pages 102-139 Mindanao....Pages 140-183 The Positive Contributions of Youth to Peacebuilding....Pages 184-207 Conclusions: Youth and Peacebuilding Outcomes....Pages 208-220 Back Matter....Pages 221-274