Sustainable peace involves more than simply including youth in official peacebuilding mechanisms or recognizing their local peacebuilding work; it requires a transformation in thinking about the youth as actors in the world of security and peace. Using case studies from around the globe, the contributors to this volume analyse why states are afraid of their young people, why 'youth participation' in formal peace processes matters but is insufficient, and ways that young people are working outside of official systems to create and nurture peace on their own terms. The volume offers guidance for ways to bridge the disconnect that exists between institutional assumptions and expectations for youth as peacebuilders and the actual sustainable peace leadership of youth. Throughout, it emphasises a critical approach to peacebuilding with, for and by youth.
This book offers a unique insight into the ways in which education systems, governance, and actors at multiple scales interact in initial steps towards building peace. It presents a spectrum of recently conducted research in the context of Myanmar, a society in the midst of challenging transitions, politically, socio-culturally and economically. Divided in 3 thematical research areas, the first part on Myanmar’s policy landscape aims to unravel the integration of peacebuilding into the education sector at macro and micro policy levels. The second part examines the role teachers play in processes of peacebuilding, and the third part examines ways in which formal and non-formal peacebuilding education programs address the agency of youth in Myanmar. This book is an essential guide for students embarking in the field of education, conflict and peacebuilding.
Securitizing Youth offers new insights on young people’s engagement in a wide range of contexts related to the peace and security field. It presents empirical findings on the challenges and opportunities faced by young women and men in their efforts to build more peaceful, inclusive, and environmentally secure societies. The chapters included in this edited volume examine the diversity and complexity of young people’s engagement for peace and security in different countries across the globe and in different types and phases of conflict and violence, including both conflict-affected and relatively peaceful societies. Chapter contributors, young peacebuilders, and seasoned scholars and practitioners alike propose ways to support youth’s agency and facilitate their meaningful participation in decision-making. The chapters are organized around five broad thematic issues that correspond to the 5 Pillars of Action identified by UN Security Council Resolution 2250. Lessons learned are intended to inform the global youth, peace, and security agenda so that it better responds to on-the-ground realities, hence promoting more sustainable and inclusive approaches to long-lasting peace.
This open access book brings together discourse on children and peace from the 15th International Symposium on the Contributions of Psychology to Peace, covering issues pertinent to children and peace and approaches to making their world safer, fairer and more sustainable. The book is divided into nine sections that examine traditional themes (social construction and deconstruction of diversity, intergenerational transitions and memories of war, and multiculturalism), as well as contemporary issues such as Europe’s “migration crisis”, radicalization and violent extremism, and violence in families, schools and communities. Chapters contextualize each issue within specific social ecological frameworks in order to reflect on the multiplicity of influences that affect different outcomes and to discuss how the findings can be applied in different contexts. The volume also provides solutions and hope through its focus on youth empowerment and peacebuilding programs for children and families. This forward-thinking volume offers a multitude of views, approaches, and strategies for research and activism drawn from peace psychology scholars and United Nations researchers and practitioners. This book's multi-layered emphasis on context, structural determinants of peace and conflict, and use of research for action towards social cohesion for children and youth has not been brought together in other peace psychology literature to the same extent. Children and Peace: From Research to Action will be a useful resource for peace psychology academics and students, as well as social and developmental psychology academics and students, peace and development practitioners and activists, policy makers who need to make decisions about the matters covered in the book, child rights advocates and members of multilateral organizations such as the UN.
Across diverse countries and contexts in Africa, religion has direct implications for human security. While some individuals and groups seek to manipulate and control through the deployment of religion, religious belief is also a common facet of those working towards peace and reconciliation. Despite the strategic importance of religion to human security in Africa, there are few contemporary publications that explore this issue on an international scale. This volume redresses that imbalance by examining religion’s impact on human security across Africa. Written by an international team of contributors, this book looks in detail at the intersection of religion and security in a variety of African contexts. Case studies from a diverse set of countries including Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Burkina Faso, and more, are used to illustrate wider trends across the continent. Acknowledging that religion can be used to incite violence as well as encourage peace, the chapters employ an interdisciplinary exploration of the ethics, sociology, and politics around these issues. This is much needed volume on religion’s capacity to effect human security. It will, therefore, be of significant interest to any scholar of religious studies, African studies, political science, the sociology of religion, and anthropology, as well as peace, conflict, and reconciliation studies.
As the world turns its attention to the reconstruction of Afghanistan and Iraq following recent conflicts in these countries, the issue of post-conflict peacebuilding takes centre stage. This collection presents a timely and original overview of the field of peace studies and offers fresh analytical tools which promote a critical reconceptualization of peace and conflict, while also making specific reference to peacebuilding strategies employed in recent international conflicts.
This book is a guide for college students exploring career options who are interested in working to promote peacebuilding and the resolution of conflict. High school students, particularly those starting to consider college and careers, can also benefit from this book. A major feature of the book is 30 stories from young professionals, most recently graduated from college, who are working in the field. These profiles provide readers with insight as to strategies they might use to advance their peacebuilding careers. The book speaks directly to the Millennial generation, recognizing that launching a career is a major focus, and that careers in the peace field have not always been easy to identify. As such, the book takes the approach that most any career can be a peacebuilding career provided one is willing to apply creativity and passion to their work. ENDORSEMENTS: The 30 profiles and other examples of career options across disciplines in Peace Jobs should be a required resource for all high school and college career offices. Packed with valuable realistic examples of how students, from a wide array of backgrounds, connected their passion with a paid career, it answers the ever present question “but what job can I get in peacebuilding”? Jennifer Batton Co-Chair, Peace Education Working Group and Chair, North America, Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict Coordinator, International Conference on Conflict Resolution Education If changing the world is your calling, David Smith offers the guiding framework to channel passions and talents into meaningful employment. In Peace Jobs, millennials and others can discover ways to apply their social conscience to traditional and transformative career opportunities. Tony Jenkins, PhD Director, Peace Education Initiative, The University of Toledo Managing Director, International Institute on Peace Education Coordinator, Global Campaign for Peace Education
Violent conflicts today are complex and increasingly protracted, involving more nonstate groups and regional and international actors. It is estimated that by 2030—the horizon set by the international community for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals—more than half of the world’s poor will be living in countries affected by high levels of violence. Information and communication technology, population movements, and climate change are also creating shared risks that must be managed at both national and international levels. Pathways for Peace is a joint United Nations†“World Bank Group study that originates from the conviction that the international community’s attention must urgently be refocused on prevention. A scaled-up system for preventive action would save between US$5 billion and US$70 billion per year, which could be reinvested in reducing poverty and improving the well-being of populations. The study aims to improve the way in which domestic development processes interact with security, diplomacy, mediation, and other efforts to prevent conflicts from becoming violent. It stresses the importance of grievances related to exclusion—from access to power, natural resources, security and justice, for example—that are at the root of many violent conflicts today. Based on a review of cases in which prevention has been successful, the study makes recommendations for countries facing emerging risks of violent conflict as well as for the international community. Development policies and programs must be a core part of preventive efforts; when risks are high or building up, inclusive solutions through dialogue, adapted macroeconomic policies, institutional reform, and redistributive policies are required. Inclusion is key, and preventive action needs to adopt a more people-centered approach that includes mainstreaming citizen engagement. Enhancing the participation of women and youth in decision making is fundamental to sustaining peace, as well as long-term policies to address the aspirations of women and young people.
"In the aftermath of violent conflict, no society can afford to rebuild its future without the participation of its young generation and consideration for their interests and needs. Yet, trapped in a state of protracted victimhood, children and youth - and their needs and potential - risk being overlooked in the planning and implementation of post-conflict peacebuilding. They are frequently mere bystanders to peacebuilding efforts, disempowered to change their fortunes in the midst of societies scarred by death, poverty and destruction. Their voices will not be heard unless they can escape the chains of victimhood and their active agency in post-war recovers effort is recognized. The contributors to this volume explore the lack of child- and youth- specific peacebuilding practices by local, national and international players; and young peoples' struggle to escape the continuing victimhood or the pathways of survival criminality and instead secure more opportunities to be agents of sustainable peace. By drawing on experiences from post-conflict environments in different parts of the world, a diverse group of researchers and scholar-practitioners working in academia, non-governmental and international organisations examine the proactive roles of girls and boys in promoting security for themselves and their families ; their disproportionate suffering and their specific vulnerabilities during and after the war; international legal frameworks created to protect and empower children and youth in post-conflict environments; examples of initiatives to help young people escape the traps of victimhood and voicelessness and actively engage in rebuilding their communities and nations; and international and national efforts to provide for the security of children and young people in post-conflict environments. Children and youth are essential catalysts for the successful rebuilding of war-torn societies. Many will reach adulthood as new social, economic and political orders are being consolidated, as first elections are held and as international assistance and early rebuilding efforts are handed over into local hands. As the young post-war generation will become the next leaders, parents and teachers, ensuring children and youth's active role in post-conflict peacebuilding today could be among the most effective means of building a sustainable peace tomorrow."--Publisher's description.
