- African Studies, International Education, Youth Studies, Youth Culture, Peace and Conflict Studies, Sexual Violence, and 58 moreGender Studies, Masculinity Studies, Anthropology, Social and Cultural Anthropology, Comparative & International Education, International Relations, Security, Peace, Conflict, Freedom, Multiculturalism, Ethnicity, Human Rights, Minority Rights, International Law, International organizations, Diplomacy, Nationalism, Peacebuilding, Peacekeeping, Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief, Stabilization and Reconstruction, Post Conflict Issues, Violence, Refugee Studies, Refugees, International Development, Post-genocide Rwanda and Burundi, West Africa, Central Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, East Africa, Timor-Leste Studies, Kosovo, Colombia, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, Horn of Africa, Research Methodology, Qualitative methodology, Qualitative Research, Qualitative Research Methods, Cultural Anthropology, Social Anthropology, Social Sciences, Displacement, Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), Gender, Gender and Sexuality, Masculinities, and Conflict Resolutionedit
- Marc’s career has blended peacebuilding and diplomacy with field research and teaching. He uses trust-based methods t... moreMarc’s career has blended peacebuilding and diplomacy with field research and teaching. He uses trust-based methods to reveal new insights about inclusion and system reform, and how to cultivate them. His work draws from field experience in 22 war-affected countries over the past 3 decades. A key focus is marginalized female and male youth.
Marc has provided strategic and technical advice, and expertise in training and conflict negotiation, including:
• As a peacebuilder, designing and assessing programs for marginalized youth and coordinating discreet, high-level meetings on peace and stabilization.
• As a diplomat, serving as a back-channel negotiator and peacebuilding strategist.
• As a field researcher and evaluator, where he regularly uncovers vital issues that previously had been overlooked or unknown. His trust-based methods are detailed in a recent book.
• As a violent extremism and CVE expert, revealing new insights in a seminal report on youth and CVE and leading a major research workshop for IGAD in Djibouti.
• As a security and risk management analyst, applying expertise on non-state military actors, informal economic sectors and youth exclusion to pressing challenges.
Marc has served as a senior advisor and officer in the U.S. Department of State. He is a former member of the UN Advisory Group of Experts for the Progress Study on Youth, Peace and Security and was a Fellow at The Wilson Center, U.S. Institute of Peace and The Bellagio Center. He taught for many years at The Fletcher School (Tufts University) and has consulted for 20+ NGOs, 5 UN agencies, 6 policy institutes, OSCE and the World Bank.
Marc is the author of 10 books (on youth, war, development, education in emergencies, refugees, VE/CVE and coordination) and the recipient of 4 book awards. His new book is called "We the Young Fighters: Pop Culture, Terror, and War in Sierra Leone" (Oct. 1, 2023).
For more info, go to: marcsommers.comedit
"We the Young Fighters" is at once a history of a nation, the story of a war, and the saga of downtrodden young people and three pop culture superstars. Reggae idol Bob Marley, rap legend Tupac Shakur, and the John Rambo movie character... more
"We the Young Fighters" is at once a history of a nation, the story of a war, and the saga of downtrodden young people and three pop culture superstars. Reggae idol Bob Marley, rap legend Tupac Shakur, and the John Rambo movie character all portrayed an upside-down world, where those in the right are blamed while the powerful attack them. Their collective example found fertile ground in the West African nation of Sierra Leone, where youth were entrapped, inequality was blatant, and dissent was impossible.
When warfare spotlighting diamonds, marijuana, and extreme terror began in 1991, military leaders exploited the trio’s transcendent power over their young fighters and captives. Once the war expired, youth again turned to Marley for inspiration and Tupac for friendship.
Thoroughly researched and accessibly written, "We the Young Fighters" probes terror-based warfare and how Tupac, Rambo, and – especially – Bob Marley wove their way into the fabric of alienation, resistance, and hope in Sierra Leone. The tale of pop culture heroes radicalizing warfare and sculpting post-war peace underscores the urgent need to engage with alienated youth and reform predatory governments. The book ends with a framework for improving approaches to governance, gender, and youth exclusion.
The publication release date is: October 1, 2023.
When warfare spotlighting diamonds, marijuana, and extreme terror began in 1991, military leaders exploited the trio’s transcendent power over their young fighters and captives. Once the war expired, youth again turned to Marley for inspiration and Tupac for friendship.
Thoroughly researched and accessibly written, "We the Young Fighters" probes terror-based warfare and how Tupac, Rambo, and – especially – Bob Marley wove their way into the fabric of alienation, resistance, and hope in Sierra Leone. The tale of pop culture heroes radicalizing warfare and sculpting post-war peace underscores the urgent need to engage with alienated youth and reform predatory governments. The book ends with a framework for improving approaches to governance, gender, and youth exclusion.
The publication release date is: October 1, 2023.
Research Interests:
Why should anyone tell you the truth? All field research with human subjects must address this question. The challenge is particularly significant in areas where threatening groups — such as violent extremist organizations — are... more
Why should anyone tell you the truth? All field research with human subjects must address this question. The challenge is particularly significant in areas where threatening groups — such as violent extremist organizations — are influential, and where surveillance is a concern. It may be much safer for respondents to mislead researchers or conceal vital information.
The research approach detailed in this book aims to address this challenge. It is a practical guide to conducting high-quality, trust-based, qualitative field research on violent extremism. The approach is adaptable for research in development and conflict-affected contexts, as well as research that features youth.
The methods detailed in this manual account for the high degrees of sensitivity and risk that are prevalent in areas where violent extremism is a concern, and where CVE or PVE efforts have relevance. Collectively, they emphasize the cultivation of trust, inquiry with marginalized youth, a focus on understanding gender and class issues, an appreciation of the impact of surveillance and power on local environments, and analysis of youth dynamics in contrasting locations.
The research approach detailed in this book aims to address this challenge. It is a practical guide to conducting high-quality, trust-based, qualitative field research on violent extremism. The approach is adaptable for research in development and conflict-affected contexts, as well as research that features youth.
The methods detailed in this manual account for the high degrees of sensitivity and risk that are prevalent in areas where violent extremism is a concern, and where CVE or PVE efforts have relevance. Collectively, they emphasize the cultivation of trust, inquiry with marginalized youth, a focus on understanding gender and class issues, an appreciation of the impact of surveillance and power on local environments, and analysis of youth dynamics in contrasting locations.
Research Interests: African Studies, Gender Studies, Anthropology, International Relations, Social Sciences, and 14 moreYouth Studies, Terrorism, Research Methodology, Human Rights, Qualitative methodology, International Security, Africa, Political Violence and Terrorism, Gender, Qualitative Research, Masculinities, Counter terrorism, Youth, and Countering Violent Extremism
While African youth are demographically dominant, most see themselves as members of an outcast minority. Their outlier perspective directly informs the fresh and compelling new thinking about war, development, and youth in "The Outcast... more
While African youth are demographically dominant, most see themselves as members of an outcast minority. Their outlier perspective directly informs the fresh and compelling new thinking about war, development, and youth in "The Outcast Majority." Featuring interviews with development experts and young people, this book contrasts forces that shape and propel youth lives in war and post-war Africa with those that influence and constrain the international development aid enterprise.
With an eye on the colossal populations of excluded and profoundly undervalued youth in conflict-affected Africa and far beyond, the concluding framework delivers practical steps for making development work significantly more relevant and effective.
"The Outcast Majority" has received Honorable Mention for the Senior Book Prize from the American Ethnological Society: http://aesonline.org/awards/senior-book-prize/
With an eye on the colossal populations of excluded and profoundly undervalued youth in conflict-affected Africa and far beyond, the concluding framework delivers practical steps for making development work significantly more relevant and effective.
"The Outcast Majority" has received Honorable Mention for the Senior Book Prize from the American Ethnological Society: http://aesonline.org/awards/senior-book-prize/
Research Interests: Gender Studies, Economics, Development Economics, International Relations, Education, and 27 moreDevelopment Studies, Peace and Conflict Studies, Youth Studies, International Development, Human Rights, Community Development, War Studies, Sustainable Development, Africa, Sexual Violence, Trauma Studies, Gender, Rural Development, Urban Studies, Youth Culture, Economic Development, Gender and Development, Positive Youth Development, Urban Sociology, Peace & Conflict Studies, Urbanization, Peace Education, Development, Peacebuilding, Transition to Adulthood, Malnutrition, and Child Soldiers
Spotlighting failed masculinity, urban desperation, and forceful governance, author Marc Sommers tells the dramatic story of young Rwandans who are “stuck,” striving against near-impossible odds to become adults. Featuring insightful... more
Spotlighting failed masculinity, urban desperation, and forceful governance, author Marc Sommers tells the dramatic story of young Rwandans who are “stuck,” striving against near-impossible odds to become adults. Featuring insightful interviews with youth, adults, and government officials, this pioneering book sheds new light on the struggle to come of age and suggests new pathways toward the attainment of security, development, and coexistence in Africa and beyond.
Research Interests:
Victims of warfare, famine, slavery, and isolation, the Southern Sudanese are one of the most undereducated populations in the world. Since the inception of formal education in southern Sudan a century ago, schooling has largely consisted... more
Victims of warfare, famine, slavery, and isolation, the Southern Sudanese are one of the most undereducated populations in the world. Since the inception of formal education in southern Sudan a century ago, schooling has largely consisted of island-like entities surrounded by oceans of educational emptiness. 'Islands of Education' is the first book to comprehensively examine this harrowing educational reality. Featuring field research undertaken near the end of the civil war, this book examines the Southern Sudanese education situation in its three primary wartime contexts: within southern Sudan, in refugee asylum countries, and in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum.
Research Interests:
In this book, the co-ordination, or lack of co-ordination, of education during both emergencies and the early reconstruction period is examined. What constitutes effective and poor co-ordination is also analyzed, with suggestions for... more
In this book, the co-ordination, or lack of co-ordination, of education during both emergencies and the early reconstruction period is examined. What constitutes effective and poor co-ordination is also analyzed, with suggestions for enhancing co-ordination of education in emergency and post-conflict settings. This includes the need to recognize that co-ordinated education systems are unlikely to be achieved unless education authorities are willing to decline aid that does not help fulfil the objectives of their agreed and announced plans.
Research Interests:
"Parallel Worlds" examines education in the highly contested and politically charged environment of post-conflict Kosovo. The book highlights the influence and relevance of history, tradition and politics on post-war education work,... more
"Parallel Worlds" examines education in the highly contested and politically charged environment of post-conflict Kosovo. The book highlights the influence and relevance of history, tradition and politics on post-war education work, tensions between re-starting an education system and reforming it, and the gap between national policies and local conditions. The authors found parallel education worlds for different ethnic groups in Kosovo as well as for the UN-led education administration in the early post-war era
Research Interests:
Spurred by wars and a drive to urbanize, Africans are crossing borders and overwhelming cities in unprecedented numbers. At the center of this development are young refugee men who migrate to urban areas. This volume, the first... more
Spurred by wars and a drive to urbanize, Africans are crossing borders and overwhelming cities in unprecedented numbers. At the center of this development are young refugee men who migrate to urban areas. This volume, the first full-length study of urban refugees in hiding, tells the story of Burundi refugee youth who escaped from remote camps in central Tanzania to work in one of Africa's fastest-growing cities, Dar es Salaam. This steamy, rundown capital would seem uninviting to many, particularly for second generation survivors of genocide whose lives are ridden with fear. But these young men nonetheless join migrants in "Bongoland" (meaning "Brainland") where, as the nickname suggests, only the shrewdest and most cunning can survive.
Mixing lyrics from church hymns and street vernacular, descriptions of city living in cartoons and popular novels and original photographs, this book creates an ethnographic portrait of urban refugee life, where survival strategies spring from street smarts and pastors' warnings of urban sin, and mastery of popular youth culture is highly valued. Pentecostalism and a secret rift within the seemingly impenetrable Hutu ethnic group are part of the rich texture of this contemporary African story. Written in accessible prose, this book offers an intimate picture of how Africa is changing and how refugee youth are helping to drive that change.
Mixing lyrics from church hymns and street vernacular, descriptions of city living in cartoons and popular novels and original photographs, this book creates an ethnographic portrait of urban refugee life, where survival strategies spring from street smarts and pastors' warnings of urban sin, and mastery of popular youth culture is highly valued. Pentecostalism and a secret rift within the seemingly impenetrable Hutu ethnic group are part of the rich texture of this contemporary African story. Written in accessible prose, this book offers an intimate picture of how Africa is changing and how refugee youth are helping to drive that change.
Research Interests:
In the context of the Kosovo crisis, this book analyses the increased role of international military forces in humanitarian action. Outlining major events and providing recommendations to various international actors, it specifically... more
In the context of the Kosovo crisis, this book analyses the increased role of international military forces in humanitarian action. Outlining major events and providing recommendations to various international actors, it specifically looks at the following issues of interaction of military with humanitarian actors: Operational division of labor between the two; Politicisation of humanitarian action; Tensions between the two institutional cultures; and Implications of the Kosovo experience for the future.
Research Interests:
This book uses in-depth reviews of two exceptionally challenging humanitarian emergencies to explore contemporary coordination dynamics. It contrasts in-country coordination during a civil war (Sierra Leone in 1994-98) with coordination... more
This book uses in-depth reviews of two exceptionally challenging humanitarian emergencies to explore contemporary coordination dynamics. It contrasts in-country coordination during a civil war (Sierra Leone in 1994-98) with coordination for huge refugee populations (Rwandans in Tanzanian camps following the 1994 genocide).
Research Interests:
Although Africa has a youth-dominated population, African government policies are often not youth-centered and African governments and their international supporters are frequently under-informed about the priorities of most youth.... more
Although Africa has a youth-dominated population, African government policies are often not youth-centered and African governments and their international supporters are frequently under-informed about the priorities of most youth. Reliance on the “youth bulge and instability thesis” leads to distorted assessments of everyday realities. Examination of the lives, priorities, and cultural contexts of African youth, and the cases of youth in Rwanda and Burundi in particular, shows that the nature of relations between the state and massive populations of young, marginalized, and alienated citizens directly impacts the governance, security, and development prospects of African nations.
Research Interests: African Studies, International Relations, Development Studies, Peace and Conflict Studies, Youth Studies, and 14 moreHuman Rights, Conflict, Africa, Sexuality, Gender and Sexuality, Race and Ethnicity, Security Studies, Gender, Youth Culture, Conflict Resolution, Peace & Conflict Studies, Ethnicity, Youth, and Race
Although some military leaders demonstrate the skills and potential of youth to devastating effect during wars, most youth in war and post-war contexts are not in school and are unlikely to return. This article argues that since youth are... more
Although some military leaders demonstrate the skills and potential of youth to devastating effect during wars, most youth in war and post-war contexts are not in school and are unlikely to return. This article argues that since youth are a central ingredient to peacebuilding and post-war security, they require effective, appropriate responses to their priorities.
Research Interests:
It is widely assumed that most Africans reside in rural areas, that African cities make little economic sense and are unusually violent because so many unemployed young men live there, and that urban migrant youth can be drawn back to... more
It is widely assumed that most Africans reside in rural areas, that African cities make little economic sense and are unusually violent because so many unemployed young men live there, and that urban migrant youth can be drawn back to their former rural homes. This paper challenges all of these assumptions. In the process, it reviews dominant trends in Africa’s rapid urban expansion and examines what life is like for urban youth. I will argue that African cities are underserved and fiercely competitive economic environments that are negatively impacted by neoliberal development policies. Urban youth life tends to take place in worlds that are largely separate from the rest of society. The pressures and dangers facing male and female youth can be extreme, yet at the same time African cities are exceptionally stimulating places that provide opportunities for re-invention for many urban youth. The paper ends with recommendations for addressing the needs of the marginalized majority of Africa’s urban youth more effectively. Its primary focus is urban areas in the region of sub-Saharan Africa.
Research Interests:
This article examines how education and conflict are intertwined. Most war-affected youth are not in school and have little reasonable chance of ever attending. Sheer demographics alone— today’s world population is history’s youngest... more
This article examines how education and conflict are intertwined. Most war-affected youth are not in school and have little reasonable chance of ever attending. Sheer demographics alone— today’s world population is history’s youngest ever—set significant limits on the effectiveness and reach of current efforts to address education needs during and after wars. Included in the article’s analysis is how youth exclusion and colossal youth populations create considerable education challenges in conflict-affected contexts.
Research Interests:
The following description of one day of fieldwork in a remote corner of rural Rwanda took place while I was carrying out research on the situation of youth there. The research focused on how Rwandan youth became adults, and how gender... more
The following description of one day of fieldwork in a remote corner of rural Rwanda took place while I was carrying out research on the situation of youth there. The research focused on how Rwandan youth became adults, and how gender roles, and masculinity in particular, impacted youth trajectories.
Research Interests:
Urban youth constitute the vanguard of Africa’s twinned demographic transformations. Sub-Saharan Africa’s youth population growth rate is the highest of any world region (North Africa’s rate is also high). In addition, Africa’s urban... more
Urban youth constitute the vanguard of Africa’s twinned demographic transformations. Sub-Saharan Africa’s youth population growth rate is the highest of any world region (North Africa’s rate is also high). In addition, Africa’s urban growth rate is the world’s highest. Taken together, the need to provide adequate, effective support for urban youth is critical to fostering Africa’s development – and its political, social and economic stability. This article is designed to help address this need in two ways. First, it focuses attention on those comprising the overwhelming majority of this population, urban youth who are poor and marginalized. Second, drawing largely on the author’s extensive professional experience with African urban youth, the article reviews the major challenges this population faces; considers the programming context for Africa’s urban youth; reviews six principles for developing programs for them; provides field-based insights on improving the assessment, monitoring and evaluation of urban youth programming; and suggest ways to enhance the inclusion of female youth in programs. The article concludes with a consideration of the particular challenge of marginalization in meeting the needs of Africa’s huge urban youth population, and a call to respond to this challenge with youth centered policy reforms and investments.
Research Interests: Education, Development Studies, Youth Studies, Education and Youth Exclusion, Urban Studies, and 6 moreYouth Culture, Education Policy, Youth, Urban Education, Critical Theory/Pedagogy, Critical Literacies, Youth Culture, Hip Hop Culture, Curriculum & Development, Marginalization, and At Risk Youth Programs
As the Kosovar education system has been restructured under unchallenged international tutelage, what lessons does this innovative experiment in educational reconstruction offer for other post-conflict states?
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
African youth in cities, often overlooked by national governments, civil society members and international actors, comprise one of the keys to lasting peace in post‐war Africa. This paper connects African refugees to two demographic... more
African youth in cities, often overlooked by national governments, civil society members and international actors, comprise one of the keys to lasting peace in post‐war Africa. This paper connects African refugees to two demographic trends that are reshaping the continent: urbanization and Pentecostalism. Drawing on research on refugees, urban migration and religion in Africa, the author argues that young, male refugee youth are surfacing as prominent contributors to dramatic change across Africa. The case of Burundi refugees in Dar es Salaam is used both to illuminate these issues and to consider the impact of fear, sub‐ethnic rivalry and genocidal violence on refugee youth, the mechanics of hiding, state opposition to urban migration and urban youth culture. The author concludes that understanding and recognizing the dynamic role of refugee and other alienated, mobile urban youth as catalysts for transformation is an essential step in the development of peaceful, civil, and truly inclusive post‐war African societies.
Research Interests:
This article explores the different labels under which refugees in Dar es Salaam may be categorised. It identifies and profiles different
groups of urban refugee in Dar es Salaam and considers some common assumptions about urban refugees.
groups of urban refugee in Dar es Salaam and considers some common assumptions about urban refugees.
Research Interests:
Ethnic identity plays a decisive role in many interpretations of the conflicts in Rwanda and Burundi. Marc Sommers argues such a view may be failing to take crucial questions of power - and the lack of it - into account. In the decade... more
Ethnic identity plays a decisive role in many interpretations of the conflicts in Rwanda and Burundi. Marc Sommers argues such a view may be failing to take crucial questions of power - and the lack of it - into account.
In the decade of the 1950s, policy changes carried through by the Belgian colonial governments for Rwanda and Burundi shifted the ground beneath the colonized. Shortly before exiting Central Africa as rulers, they altered their previous policy of favoring ethnic Tutsi to one of favoring ethnic Hutu. The Belgians did this after decades of policymaking and pontificating about the superiority of Tutsi over Hutu. Tutsi were considered smart, able rulers and even, perhaps, distant cousins of the European race. Hutu were deemed nothing more than simple African Bantu stock: strong, yet, in virtually every other way, distinctly inferior to their Tutsi neighbors.
In the decade of the 1950s, policy changes carried through by the Belgian colonial governments for Rwanda and Burundi shifted the ground beneath the colonized. Shortly before exiting Central Africa as rulers, they altered their previous policy of favoring ethnic Tutsi to one of favoring ethnic Hutu. The Belgians did this after decades of policymaking and pontificating about the superiority of Tutsi over Hutu. Tutsi were considered smart, able rulers and even, perhaps, distant cousins of the European race. Hutu were deemed nothing more than simple African Bantu stock: strong, yet, in virtually every other way, distinctly inferior to their Tutsi neighbors.
Research Interests:
Among Burundi refugees in Tanzania, men who have a university education and know English or French are most likely to represent their concerns to officials, particularly those from UNHCR. Officials consequently learn about the... more
Among Burundi refugees in Tanzania, men who have a university education and know English or French are most likely to represent their concerns to officials, particularly those from UNHCR. Officials consequently learn about the perspectives of refugees from these men. Based upon findings from two years of field research in Tanzania, the history of relations between ethnic Hutu elites and the peasantry in Burundi is outlined and it is explained why education has assumed such pronounced significance in Burundi refugee society. It is concluded that elites may not, as if often claimed, represent the refugee majority.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
This paper provides context for the voluntary repatriation program for Burundi refugees in Tanzania, considers some assumptions inherent within it, and describes some of the effects of the plan on refugees, particularly on members of the... more
This paper provides context for the voluntary repatriation program for Burundi refugees in Tanzania, considers some assumptions inherent within it, and describes some of the effects of the plan on refugees, particularly on members of the younger generation.
Research Interests:
Most youth are peaceful. Even if the field known as “countering violent extremism” (CVE) did not exist, most young people still would not join a violent extremist organization (VEO). At the same time, the overwhelming majority of people... more
Most youth are peaceful. Even if the field known as “countering violent extremism” (CVE) did not exist, most young people still would not join a violent extremist organization (VEO). At the same time, the overwhelming majority of people who become violent extremists are youth — most of whom are male. The challenge at the center of CVE is thus an unusual one: identifying the fraction of youth populations most
likely to enter a VEO and thwarting that option.
This paper investigates that challenge, with analysis featuring interviews with 21 experts and over 400 publications on violent extremism, CVE, and youth. Two correlations inform this work: the direct relationship between nations with “youth bulge” populations and state repression, and the connection between state repression and increased violent extremism, with repressive states usually targeting male youth.
likely to enter a VEO and thwarting that option.
This paper investigates that challenge, with analysis featuring interviews with 21 experts and over 400 publications on violent extremism, CVE, and youth. Two correlations inform this work: the direct relationship between nations with “youth bulge” populations and state repression, and the connection between state repression and increased violent extremism, with repressive states usually targeting male youth.
Research Interests: Gender Studies, Anthropology, International Relations, Development Studies, Youth Studies, and 12 moreResearch Methodology, Human Rights, Government, Community Development, International Security, Sustainable Development, Governance, Gender, Masculinity, Masculinities, Youth, and Countering Violent Extremism
If the field known as “countering violent extremism” (CVE) did not exist, most young people still would not join a violent extremist organization (VEO). At the same time, although most youth are peaceful, the overwhelming majority of... more
If the field known as “countering violent extremism” (CVE) did not exist, most young people still would not join a violent extremist organization (VEO). At the same time, although most youth are peaceful, the overwhelming majority of people who become violent extremists are youth — and most are male youth. The lack of clarity about the fraction of youth populations vulnerable to violent extremism makes the practice of countering or preventing entrance into a VEO an exceptionally challenging endeavor.
The purpose of this executive summary (and full report) is to investigate the youth challenge in the CVE field. It probes the role youth play in CVE and suggests recommendations for enhancing CVE’s effectiveness. The paper also examines youth with reference to violence, conflict, the state, and struggles to achieve adulthood. The analysis features interviews with 21 experts and a review of over 400 publications on violent extremism, CVE, and youth. The primary contexts considered are the Middle East and Africa, particularly what one expert called “the big four” violent extremist groups: ISIS and al-Qaeda (both of which are based mainly in the Middle East) and Boko Haram and al-Shabaab (which are located in sub- Saharan Africa).
The purpose of this executive summary (and full report) is to investigate the youth challenge in the CVE field. It probes the role youth play in CVE and suggests recommendations for enhancing CVE’s effectiveness. The paper also examines youth with reference to violence, conflict, the state, and struggles to achieve adulthood. The analysis features interviews with 21 experts and a review of over 400 publications on violent extremism, CVE, and youth. The primary contexts considered are the Middle East and Africa, particularly what one expert called “the big four” violent extremist groups: ISIS and al-Qaeda (both of which are based mainly in the Middle East) and Boko Haram and al-Shabaab (which are located in sub- Saharan Africa).
Research Interests:
Although most youth are peaceful, the overwhelming majority of people who become violent extremists are youth — and most are male youth. The lack of clarity about the fraction of youth populations vulnerable to violent extremism makes the... more
Although most youth are peaceful, the overwhelming majority of people who become violent extremists are youth — and most are male youth. The lack of clarity about the fraction of youth populations vulnerable to violent extremism makes the practice of countering or preventing entrance into a violent extremist organization (VEO) an exceptionally challenging endeavor.
The purpose of this discussion paper is to investigate the youth challenge in the field known as “countering violent extremism” (CVE). It probes the role youth play in CVE and suggests recommendations for enhancing CVE’s effectiveness. The paper also examines youth with reference to violence, conflict, the state, and struggles to achieve adulthood.
The analysis features interviews with 21 experts and a review of over 400 publications on violent extremism, CVE, and youth. The primary contexts considered are the Middle East and Africa. The discussion paper shares four central conclusions emerging from the analysis, as well as recommendations for the field of countering violent extremism – including directly linking and highlighting “youth” and “gender” in research and action.
The purpose of this discussion paper is to investigate the youth challenge in the field known as “countering violent extremism” (CVE). It probes the role youth play in CVE and suggests recommendations for enhancing CVE’s effectiveness. The paper also examines youth with reference to violence, conflict, the state, and struggles to achieve adulthood.
The analysis features interviews with 21 experts and a review of over 400 publications on violent extremism, CVE, and youth. The primary contexts considered are the Middle East and Africa. The discussion paper shares four central conclusions emerging from the analysis, as well as recommendations for the field of countering violent extremism – including directly linking and highlighting “youth” and “gender” in research and action.
Research Interests: African Studies, Gender Studies, Anthropology, International Relations, Development Studies, and 15 morePeace and Conflict Studies, Youth Studies, Terrorism, Middle East Studies, Community Development, International Security, Governance, Security Studies, Political Extremism/Radicalism/Populism, Gender, Masculinity, Youth, Preventing violent extremism, West Asian Studies, and Countering Violent Extremism
While there is no question that growing proportions of youth in unstable societies should be a priority concern, government and international policies may unintentionally be making the youth challenge worse. Youth are seen as dangerous in... more
While there is no question that growing proportions of youth in unstable societies should be a priority concern, government and international policies may unintentionally be making the youth challenge worse. Youth are seen as dangerous in part because governments and international actors have misunderstood them and set youth priorities aside. Viewing young people through the youth bulge lens, moreover, unnecessarily fuels fearful connections between youth in certain areas of the world and terrorism. This paper will argue that the perceived threat of youth to society is distorted and must be reassessed. It will first situate the youth bulge thesis in context, consider current policies that may be further marginalizing youth, review the central tenants of known marginalized youth views, and conclude with recommendations aimed at reversing counterproductive policies and positively engaging youth to advance new policy directions.
This is a Discussion Paper prepared for the 2006 Brookings Blum Roundtable in August 2006.
This is a Discussion Paper prepared for the 2006 Brookings Blum Roundtable in August 2006.
Research Interests:
Panelists speaking at a seminar, “Africa’s Contemporary Security Challenges,” hosted by the Africa Center for Strategic Studies urged policymakers to mainstream youth concerns more intentionally in all security and development initiatives... more
Panelists speaking at a seminar, “Africa’s Contemporary Security Challenges,” hosted by the Africa Center for Strategic Studies urged policymakers to mainstream youth concerns more intentionally in all security and development initiatives in Africa.
Dr. Marc Sommers, an internationally recognized youth, conflict, education and gender expert and an award-winning author, told participants that there is a need to debunk many myths about youth, one of which is the assumption that young people necessarily engage in violence at the slightest sign of social, economic or political exclusion.
Dr. Marc Sommers, an internationally recognized youth, conflict, education and gender expert and an award-winning author, told participants that there is a need to debunk many myths about youth, one of which is the assumption that young people necessarily engage in violence at the slightest sign of social, economic or political exclusion.
Research Interests: Demography, African Studies, Gender Studies, Economics, Development Economics, and 15 moreAnthropology, International Relations, Education, Development Studies, Peace and Conflict Studies, Youth Studies, International Studies, Human Rights, Sustainable Development, Africa, Youth Culture, Social Exclusion, Migration Studies, Social Inequality, and Poverty and Inequality
Research Interests:
This research design details a preliminary plan for fieldwork in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The primarily qualitative research endeavor will investigate issues relating to out-of-school youth and alternative education in the... more
This research design details a preliminary plan for fieldwork in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The primarily qualitative research endeavor will investigate issues relating to out-of-school youth and alternative education in the DRC. It aims to take place mainly in North Kivu, in the city of Goma and two rural communities. The prevalence and popularity of accelerated learning programs will be a main focus the field research. The research will probe: the lives and aims of out-of-school youth; the relevance of accelerated learning programs; and connections between accelerated learning and the formal education system in the DRC.
Research Interests:
This discussion paper marks the beginning of a process leading to field research and a published report. The purpose of this process is, first of all, to identify crucial gaps in knowledge that hamper the expansion of equitable access to... more
This discussion paper marks the beginning of a process leading to field research and a published report. The purpose of this process is, first of all, to identify crucial gaps in knowledge that hamper the expansion of equitable access to education in conflict-affected contexts. The next step is to investigate these knowledge gaps in the field. The research will focus on alternative education programs (AEPs) for over-age, out-of-school youth in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). There is a particular emphasis on accelerated learning programs (ALPs), which are especially prevalent in the DRC.
This paper sketches a preliminary set of central knowledge gaps and research questions that the practitioners and experts identified. It draws on a series of extended interviews with seven practitioners with significant experience in the DRC with youth and education, as well as four veteran experts on education in conflict and crisis contexts more generally.
This paper sketches a preliminary set of central knowledge gaps and research questions that the practitioners and experts identified. It draws on a series of extended interviews with seven practitioners with significant experience in the DRC with youth and education, as well as four veteran experts on education in conflict and crisis contexts more generally.
Research Interests: Gender Studies, International Relations, Education, Peace and Conflict Studies, Alternative Education, and 14 moreYouth Studies, Research Methodology, Qualitative methodology, Educational Research, Conflict, Africa, Gender, Accelerated Learning, Qualitative Research, Central Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Peacebuilding, Human Rights, International Development, Diversity, Training, Capacity Building, Peacebuilding, Corporate Social Responsibility Youth Leadership, Conflict Resolution, and Security and Peace Studies
Burundi has one of the youngest and poorest populations in the world. Known as a rural-based nation, its urban growth rate is among the world’s highest. These defining characteristics of contemporary Burundi shaped field research on the... more
Burundi has one of the youngest and poorest populations in the world. Known as a rural-based nation, its urban growth rate is among the world’s highest. These defining characteristics of contemporary Burundi shaped field research on the state of Burundian adolescents and the role of violence in their lives. The research, undertaken in late 2012, found a profusion of young Burundians threatened by deprivation and domestic and sexual violence. Most receive limited social and state protection and have difficulty remaining in school, finding work or securing adulthood. In the countryside, strong cultural traditions and a weak state facilitate the mistreatment of orphans and girls who become unmarried mothers. In Bujumbura, many adolescents arrive alone and are vulnerable to exploitation. Their condition is underscored by girl prostitutes called Toto Show and the Manjema men who “eat” them. "Adolescents and Violence" contrasts factors and specific populations that might fuel violent conflict with countervailing factors that have the potential to promote peace. The discussion paper ends by highlighting twelve lessons, drawn from the field research in Burundi, that promise to powerfully impact post-war development and reconstruction work in other countries.
Research Interests:
What is the situation of adolescents in Burundi today? How do their conditions and trajectories help promote or reduce prospects for violent conflict in this post-war nation? This report will draw on field research in rural and urban... more
What is the situation of adolescents in Burundi today? How do their conditions and trajectories help promote or reduce prospects for violent conflict in this post-war nation? This report will draw on field research in rural and urban Burundi in late 2012 to address these questions. The research detailed the impact of hunger, inflation, poverty and urban migration on adolescent lives. It also shed light on the profusion of orphans and unmarried mothers in the adolescent population, and raised serious questions about the state of governance, education, employment and adulthood in the country. The report concludes with recommendations for enhancing the situation of adolescents and helping to foster peace in Burundi.
Research Interests: Gender Studies, International Relations, Education, Peace and Conflict Studies, Youth Studies, and 24 moreDomestic Violence, Violence, Drugs And Addiction, International Development, Refugee Studies, Conflict, Post-conflict Reconstruction and Development, Sexual Violence, Gender and Sexuality, Political Violence and Terrorism, Adolescent Development, Young Adulthood, Gender, Urban Studies, Youth Culture, Economic Development, Manhood, Informal Economy, Refugees, Peacebuilding, Natural (Land) Resource Based Conflicts, Burundi, Adolescents, and Post-genocide Rwanda and Burundi
In war and post-war Africa, youth populations are colossal and most governments are weak. The elemental youthfulness of Africa’s war-affected has created a daunt¬ing yet virtually overlooked irony: that while youth are demographically... more
In war and post-war Africa, youth populations are colossal and most governments are weak. The elemental youthfulness of Africa’s war-affected has created a daunt¬ing yet virtually overlooked irony: that while youth are demographically dominant, many if not most consider themselves to be members of an outcast minority. It is this combination of enormous youth cohorts and their widespread alienation, to¬gether with unsteady governance and pervasive insecurity, which creates exceptionally challenging circumstances for governments and their interna¬tional partners in war-affected Africa today. With policy and program recommendations.
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This report assesses the situation, priorities, and expectations of South Sudan’s massive youth population in the context of building the new nation. Drawing from field interviews with youth, adults, and government and nongovernment... more
This report assesses the situation, priorities, and expectations of South Sudan’s massive youth population in the context of building the new nation. Drawing from field interviews with youth, adults, and government and nongovernment officials in the capital,
Juba, the mainly pastoralist oil-rich state of Unity, and the mainly agricultural state of Western Equatoria, this report found that strikingly conservative cultural norms are mixing with new social and economic changes to create a host of pressing challenges. The report highlights the impact of dramatic dowry (bride price) inflation on youth and finds that it is stimulating rises in insecurity, crime, and population growth while intensifying threats against and control over female youth.
Juba, the mainly pastoralist oil-rich state of Unity, and the mainly agricultural state of Western Equatoria, this report found that strikingly conservative cultural norms are mixing with new social and economic changes to create a host of pressing challenges. The report highlights the impact of dramatic dowry (bride price) inflation on youth and finds that it is stimulating rises in insecurity, crime, and population growth while intensifying threats against and control over female youth.
Research Interests:
This report compares the results of parallel research projects carried out among impoverished, nonelite youth in postconflict Rwanda and Burundi. Arguing that the plight and priorities of nonelite youth should be of serious national and... more
This report compares the results of parallel research projects carried out among impoverished, nonelite youth in postconflict
Rwanda and Burundi. Arguing that the plight and priorities of nonelite youth should be of serious national and international concern, particularly in countries that have unusually youthful populations that are overwhelmingly poor and undereducated, it finds striking differences between the groups, with a significantly bleaker picture for youth in Rwanda
Rwanda and Burundi. Arguing that the plight and priorities of nonelite youth should be of serious national and international concern, particularly in countries that have unusually youthful populations that are overwhelmingly poor and undereducated, it finds striking differences between the groups, with a significantly bleaker picture for youth in Rwanda
Research Interests:
This study highlights the contours of Sub-Saharan African urban life and what it’s like to be a young person (in this case, those between ages 10 and 24) in a big African city. It will begin by examining some assumptions about urban... more
This study highlights the contours of Sub-Saharan African urban life and what it’s like to be a young person (in this case, those between ages 10 and 24) in a big African city. It will begin by examining some assumptions about urban Africa and what trends help illuminate Africa’s high urbanization rate and the challenges that African cities face. Next, it will review some central themes of urban youth life in Africa. Wherever possible, particular attention will be paid to adolescent youth and to cities in East and Southern Africa. The study will conclude by considering programme and policy implications for working with Africa’s urban youth and providing suggestions for enhancing strategies that support them.
Research Interests:
The model for enhancing the capacity of post-war governments by placing international technical advisors into the government structure while training national civil servants is sensible and, in most cases, probably appropriate. Research... more
The model for enhancing the capacity of post-war governments by placing international technical advisors into the government structure while training national civil servants is sensible and, in most cases, probably appropriate. Research in Timor-Leste (August-September 2009) strongly suggests that the application of this model there has generated functional as well as startlingly dysfunctional results. The evident social distance and dysfunctions that mark many of the professional relationships between international and national personnel (which largely center on technical advice and decision-making responsibilities) could create significant problems in the medium and longer term if underlying issues are not addressed.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
After decades of subjugation, isolation and repression, most especially across twenty-four years of occupation by Indonesia, Timor-Leste became independent after the 1999 referendum. Suddenly, the leaders of Timor’s unsinkable... more
After decades of subjugation, isolation and repression, most especially across twenty-four years of occupation by Indonesia, Timor-Leste became independent after the 1999 referendum.
Suddenly, the leaders of Timor’s unsinkable independence movement had to transform themselves from determined resistors into the heads of a brand new nation. After decades of subjugation, isolation and repression, most especially across twenty-four years of occupation by Indonesia, Timor-Leste became independent after the 1999 referendum. Suddenly, the leaders of Timor’s unsinkable independence movement had to transform themselves from determined resistors into the heads of a brand new nation. This transformation has not been easy. One irony emerging from the current crisis is that while some within the Timorese resistance movement have become prominent and even award-winning leaders, they are currently better known for their rivalries and inability to coexist. However, in all the discussions of leadership capacity, one truly significant Timorese resource was scarcely ever noted: the extraordinarily high degree of resilience of the Timorese people. This paper examines the impact of this characteristic on the development of leadership capacity in Timor-Leste and raises questions about how leadership training programs can most effectively address this issue.
Suddenly, the leaders of Timor’s unsinkable independence movement had to transform themselves from determined resistors into the heads of a brand new nation. After decades of subjugation, isolation and repression, most especially across twenty-four years of occupation by Indonesia, Timor-Leste became independent after the 1999 referendum. Suddenly, the leaders of Timor’s unsinkable independence movement had to transform themselves from determined resistors into the heads of a brand new nation. This transformation has not been easy. One irony emerging from the current crisis is that while some within the Timorese resistance movement have become prominent and even award-winning leaders, they are currently better known for their rivalries and inability to coexist. However, in all the discussions of leadership capacity, one truly significant Timorese resource was scarcely ever noted: the extraordinarily high degree of resilience of the Timorese people. This paper examines the impact of this characteristic on the development of leadership capacity in Timor-Leste and raises questions about how leadership training programs can most effectively address this issue.
Research Interests:
This report examines the large and complex youth employment challenge in Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Côte d’Ivoire, where there is an “urgent need to create employment for 4.5 million youth” and where over half of all youth lack... more
This report examines the large and complex youth employment challenge in Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Côte d’Ivoire, where there is an “urgent need to create employment for 4.5 million youth” and where over half of all youth lack proper work. Mindful that much of the region’s youth cohort is restive and unemployed, Liberia’s ‘rebel behaviour’ and ex-combatant youth among them, the report will also consider the implications of providing ‘productive and decent work’ for youth; that is, work that promises to put youth on the road towards acquiring respect and professional development as well as compensation. The report will conclude with a description of an employment programme for some of the region’s most marginalized and overlooked: poor, unemployed urban youth.
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This paper considers some of the implications arising from the presence of international institutions that, while they seem to be divided, may nevertheless collectively, if unintentionally, support corrupt government practices. It argues... more
This paper considers some of the implications arising from the presence of international institutions that, while they seem to be divided, may nevertheless collectively, if unintentionally, support corrupt government practices. It argues that while some institutions fund weak wartime governments, other international institutions directly and indirectly undermine their capacities. The absence of coordinated strategies makes the challenge of building reliable post-war governments with little or no corruption even more difficult.
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While there is no question that growing proportions of youth in unstable societies should be a priority concern, government and international policies may unintentionally be making the youth challenge worse. Youth are seen as dangerous in... more
While there is no question that growing proportions of youth in unstable societies should be a priority concern, government and international policies may unintentionally be making the youth challenge worse. Youth are seen as dangerous in part because
governments and international actors have misunderstood them and set youth priorities aside. Viewing young people through the youth bulge lens, moreover, unnecessarily fuels fearful connections between youth in certain areas of the world and terrorism. This paper will argue that the perceived threat of youth to society is distorted and must be reassessed. It will first situate the youth bulge thesis in context, consider current policies that may be further marginalizing youth, review the central tenants of known marginalized youth views, and conclude with recommendations aimed at reversing counterproductive policies and positively engaging youth to advance new policy directions.
governments and international actors have misunderstood them and set youth priorities aside. Viewing young people through the youth bulge lens, moreover, unnecessarily fuels fearful connections between youth in certain areas of the world and terrorism. This paper will argue that the perceived threat of youth to society is distorted and must be reassessed. It will first situate the youth bulge thesis in context, consider current policies that may be further marginalizing youth, review the central tenants of known marginalized youth views, and conclude with recommendations aimed at reversing counterproductive policies and positively engaging youth to advance new policy directions.
Research Interests:
This review introduces debates over how the youth category has been defined and whether youth should be seen primarily as passive victims of warfare, active threats to peace, or as resilient survivors. Analysis suggests that while war’s... more
This review introduces debates over how the youth category has been defined and whether youth should be seen primarily as passive victims of warfare, active threats to peace, or as resilient survivors. Analysis suggests that while war’s effects on youth are complex, resilience is their most prominent shared characteristic. The implication of this analysis on programming is significant because it casts youth as central formulators of youth programming.
Research Interests: Cultural Studies, African Studies, Gender Studies, International Relations, Education, and 16 moreDevelopment Studies, Peace and Conflict Studies, Youth Studies, International Studies, International Development, Human Rights, Education and Youth Exclusion, Gender, Youth Culture, Mainstreaming of gender and environmental issues in rural development programs, Vocational Education, At-Risk Youth, Youth, International Development Cooperation, International Aid and Development, and Self Representation
This review introduces debates over how the youth category has been defined and whether youth should be seen primarily as passive victims of warfare, active threats to peace, or as resilient survivors. Analysis suggests that while war’s... more
This review introduces debates over how the youth category has been defined and whether youth should be seen primarily as passive victims of warfare, active threats to peace, or as resilient survivors. Analysis suggests that while war’s effects on youth are complex, resilience is their most prominent shared characteristic. The implication of this analysis on programming is significant because it casts youth as central formulators of youth programming.
Research Interests:
This paper sets the case of Rwanda’s male youth within the larger context of Africa’s urbanization and burgeoning youth population. It investigates the pervasive images of male urban youth as a menace to Africa’s development and its... more
This paper sets the case of Rwanda’s male youth within the larger context of Africa’s urbanization and burgeoning youth population. It investigates the pervasive images of male urban youth as a menace to Africa’s development and its primary source of instability. It then turns to the Rwandan case, examining the desperate conditions its young men (and women) faced before the civil war (1990-94) and 1994 genocide, as well as their experience of it. It draws on field interviews with Rwandan youth to consider the situation male youth face in the postwar, post-genocide era. The paper situates the Rwandan case within the debate on whether concentrated numbers of African male youth are dangerous (the youth bulge theory), as well as prospects for Rwanda’s male youth population.
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Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
This paper argues that the wealth of youthful residents in African cities constitute a largely untapped resource for ingenuity, stability, and economic growth. It will present some commonly held perspectives on Africa’s cities, and the... more
This paper argues that the wealth of youthful residents in African cities constitute a largely untapped resource for ingenuity, stability, and economic growth. It will present some commonly held perspectives on Africa’s cities, and the urban youth who have come to demographically dominate them. The paper will then look at the lives of African urban youth, particularly those who have been affected by conflict, and why they are so attracted to city life. At the core of this analysis is the central irony surrounding urban youth: that they are a demographic majority that sees itself as an outcast minority. The final section will suggest ways in which programming for youth at risk in African cities might be improved to help transform how urban youth are perceived, engaged, and ultimately included in urban Africa’s civil societies and economies
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Conflict's path of devastation and chaos has dramatically slowed the ability of war-torn countries to reach the Education for All (EFA) goals adopted in Dakar in April 2000. This paper sketches the situation confronting children, their... more
Conflict's path of devastation and chaos has dramatically slowed the ability of war-torn countries to reach the Education for All (EFA) goals adopted in Dakar in April 2000. This paper sketches the situation confronting children, their families and governments in conflict countries and describes the challenges of reaching universal primary education. Far more could be done to support education in countries suffering from conflict. The most logical starting point lies in supporting emergency education where it exists and dramatically expanding access to education where it doesn't. Yet, most primary-school-age children in war-affected areas are not in school and have no realistic hope of enrolling in one. In addition, education for and efforts to engage with youths, remain limited. This creates a volatile and dangerous situation. Youth programming, when it does exist, is usually poorly supported, and may not offer much hope in terms of opening employment and income opportunities. It generally faces stiff competition from aggressive military or criminal operatives who recruit (or abduct) children and youths into their militia or gangs, promising rich and immediate rewards. More than any other circumstance, war makes the case for providing appropriate educational responses to the needs of children and youth at risk, and exposes the dangers of neglect.
Research Interests: African Studies, Education, Development Studies, Peace and Conflict Studies, International Development, and 9 moreHuman Rights, Education and Youth Exclusion, Conflict, Education Policy, Children and War, Peace Education, Childhood studies, International Aid and Development, and Post-War Reconstruction
Using the case of education in the refugee camps of Kakuma, in Kenya, this report addresses the question of whether education facilities attract displaced people, and whether this is a positive result. Despite its well-known deprivations,... more
Using the case of education in the refugee camps of Kakuma, in Kenya, this report addresses the question of whether education facilities attract displaced people, and whether this is a positive result. Despite its well-known deprivations, Kakuma is also renowned as a place of opportunity: the chances for obtaining free schooling, medical treatment, and, just maybe, resettlement to Europe, Australia, or, better yet, America, have made it famous among Southern Sudanese. This report will focus on whether the possibility that a new teacher training center (TTC) in Kakuma could undermine teacher training investments within Southern Sudan. It will also examine the broader context of this issue, both in terms of perceptions and realities.
Research Interests:
The lives and concerns of Africa's urban refugees are routinely overlooked. In a way, this is useful, since most reside in cities illegally, devising strategies to survive and avoid notice along the margins. But at the same time,... more
The lives and concerns of Africa's urban refugees are routinely overlooked. In a way, this is useful, since most reside in cities illegally, devising strategies to survive and avoid notice along the margins.
But at the same time, urban refugees already are in Africa's mainstream in two important ways. First, they are helping to fuel Africa's rapidly expanding urbanization. Second, the young, male refugees featured in this paper are contributing to a second major demographic trend in Africa: the spread of Pentecostal religious adherents.
Drawing from field research with Burundi refugees in Dar es Salaam, this paper examines these and other significant trends, and details the lives of refugees living in a big African city without legal permission.
But at the same time, urban refugees already are in Africa's mainstream in two important ways. First, they are helping to fuel Africa's rapidly expanding urbanization. Second, the young, male refugees featured in this paper are contributing to a second major demographic trend in Africa: the spread of Pentecostal religious adherents.
Drawing from field research with Burundi refugees in Dar es Salaam, this paper examines these and other significant trends, and details the lives of refugees living in a big African city without legal permission.
Research Interests: Religion, African Studies, Gender Studies, Anthropology, International Relations, and 16 moreDevelopment Studies, Peace and Conflict Studies, Social Research Methods and Methodology, International Law, Human Rights, Refugee Studies, Sustainable Development, Africa, Gender, Urban Studies, Masculinity, Pentecostalism, Urbanization, Tanzania, Burundi, and Anthropology of Religion
This report builds from the premise that the first line of emergency educators during a humanitarian crisis is not international education experts but members of forced migrant communities. Drawing primarily from field research in... more
This report builds from the premise that the first line of emergency educators during a humanitarian crisis is not international education experts but members of forced migrant communities. Drawing primarily from field research in Burundian refugee camps in Tanzania and internally displaced communities in Colombia in 1998, and secondarily from field research in Sierra Leone and Sierra Leonean refugee camps in 1997 and Rwandan refugee camps in Tanzania in 1994, the report argues that, before international educators either visit a humanitarian emergency site or import assistance there, many refugee and displaced communities are already educating their children themselves.
The central focus of “Emergency Education for Children” is primary school-level education activities taking place during humanitarian emergencies. Analysis emerges from interviews with
refugee and displaced educators, parents and children, local government officials, and key members of the international humanitarian community that directly impacts emergency
education activities.
The report describes refugee and displaced community schools generally and contrasts them with the United Nations-generated “school kits” that have been implemented in some emergency
settings. It also considers why more boys than girls receive formal education during emergencies. The report reviews and examines a number of constraints to emergency education, but two in particular: limited government support for educating internally displaced children in Colombia, and the reluctance of some international humanitarian funders to support educational activities during emergencies. The report concludes with a series of recommendations aimed at bridging gaps between emergency educators in forced migrant communities and those in international humanitarian communities.
The central focus of “Emergency Education for Children” is primary school-level education activities taking place during humanitarian emergencies. Analysis emerges from interviews with
refugee and displaced educators, parents and children, local government officials, and key members of the international humanitarian community that directly impacts emergency
education activities.
The report describes refugee and displaced community schools generally and contrasts them with the United Nations-generated “school kits” that have been implemented in some emergency
settings. It also considers why more boys than girls receive formal education during emergencies. The report reviews and examines a number of constraints to emergency education, but two in particular: limited government support for educating internally displaced children in Colombia, and the reluctance of some international humanitarian funders to support educational activities during emergencies. The report concludes with a series of recommendations aimed at bridging gaps between emergency educators in forced migrant communities and those in international humanitarian communities.
Research Interests:
Research for this report in Colombia found evidence of a seriously deprived displaced population which receives alarmingly low levels of humanitarian support and only minimal recognition of their plight from national and international... more
Research for this report in Colombia found evidence of a seriously deprived displaced population which receives alarmingly low levels of humanitarian support and only minimal recognition of their plight from national and international agencies and governments. In cities, the displaced are crowded in shantytowns which sprawl along the peripheries of the urban centers. These barrios of cardboard and tin shacks or hovels with plastic sheeting for roofs lack potable water, electricity, roads, schools, health posts or assistance projects. In the few instances where displaced persons fled their communities together and remained in cohesive groups, assistance has been sporadic and inadequate. Includes recommendations.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Peace and Conflict Studies, Refugee Studies, War Studies, Trauma Studies, Anthropology of Children and Childhood, and 8 moreHumanitarian Intervention, Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), Children and War, Refugees, Burundi, Post-genocide Rwanda and Burundi, Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief, and Post Conflict Issues
This report investigates why children (ages 0-17) have become key figures in Sierra Leone’s civil war, and explores the problems the war has caused for them. The report concentrates particularly on "bush camp" children, adolescent girls... more
This report investigates why children (ages 0-17) have become key figures in Sierra Leone’s civil war, and explores the problems the war has caused for them. The report concentrates particularly on "bush camp" children, adolescent girls claimed by a variety of captors, and young boys working in mining camps. Includes recommendations.
Research Interests: Gender Studies, Peace and Conflict Studies, Sociology of Children and Childhood, Child and adolescent mental health, Refugee Studies, and 9 moreSecurity Studies, West Africa, Anthropology of Children and Childhood, Gender, Sierra Leone, Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), Peace & Conflict Studies, Refugees, and Security and Peace Studies
Research Interests: Religion, International Relations, Peace and Conflict Studies, International Development, Conflict, and 11 moreGenocide Studies, Conflict Resolution, Conflict Management, Reconciliation, Refugee Camps, Refugees, Peacebuilding, Religious Studies, Rwandan Genocide, Refugee memory, and Critical Refugee Studies
Research Interests:
The Rwandan Youth Education Assessment was undertaken shortly after Rwanda's genocide had ended (September-October, 1994). It combines two field assessments of the situation of youth in the Rwandan refugee camps in Tanzania with an... more
The Rwandan Youth Education Assessment was undertaken shortly after Rwanda's genocide had ended (September-October, 1994). It combines two field assessments of the situation of youth in the Rwandan refugee camps in Tanzania with an assessment of the situation of youth inside Rwanda.
The document culminates with an ambitious proposal to provide literacy and distance education courses for up to 200,000 Rwandan youth based inside Rwanda and in the huge refugee camps nearby. The program ultimately was piloted in Rwanda and served as a basis for the Youth Education Pack (YEP) of the Norwegian Refugee Council, which has been implemented in many countries.
The document culminates with an ambitious proposal to provide literacy and distance education courses for up to 200,000 Rwandan youth based inside Rwanda and in the huge refugee camps nearby. The program ultimately was piloted in Rwanda and served as a basis for the Youth Education Pack (YEP) of the Norwegian Refugee Council, which has been implemented in many countries.
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Helping African governments realize that positive engagement with youth is a winning strategy calls for specialized research and programming together with sustained and coordinated advocacy by the U.S. government and other international... more
Helping African governments realize that positive engagement with youth is a winning strategy calls for specialized research and programming together with sustained and coordinated advocacy by the U.S. government and other international actors with African states. Ramping up engagement and sharpening advocacy efforts with African governments is necessary to weaken VEOs and strengthen youth-state relations. Particularly in countries where it is too dangerous for citizens to speak out. This short chapter proposes one way forward.
Research Interests:
Although Sub-Saharan Africa has the most youthful human population on the planet, Africa’s youth challenge is built on distortions. For example, the overwhelming majority of youth are peaceful, not violent, and actively resist engagement... more
Although Sub-Saharan Africa has the most youthful human population on the planet, Africa’s youth challenge is built on distortions. For example, the overwhelming majority of youth are peaceful, not violent, and actively resist engagement in violence. In addition, female youth regularly are disregarded. There is a need to recognize that many youth cannot access capital, land, livestock, post-primary education, housing, political processes, and social recognition to the same degree that adults can. The concluding recommendations detail steps for addressing Africa's youth challenge much more effectively.
[Note: This contribution to "Africa: Year in Review 2017" is on p. 21.]
[Note: This contribution to "Africa: Year in Review 2017" is on p. 21.]
Research Interests: African Studies, Gender Studies, International Economics, International Relations, Youth Studies, and 14 moreInternational Studies, International Development, Human Rights, International Security, Africa, Governance, International Political Economy, Gender, Youth Culture, Masculinity, Masculinities, Youth, Fundraising, growing philanthropy, donor behavior, and Adult
This (draft) book chapter explains why the approach to youth exclusion isn’t working, and what can be done to transform it. It draws mainly from the case of war and postwar Africa, where the distance between youth and governments, and... more
This (draft) book chapter explains why the approach to youth exclusion isn’t working, and what can be done to transform it. It draws mainly from the case of war and postwar Africa, where the distance between youth and governments, and international development agencies, tends to be pronounced, and where inaccurate stereotypes about young people pervade. The changes that are required necessarily move governments and international development agencies out of their comfort zone. The reason is simple: the extensive exclusion of youth underscores how the status quo doesn’t work. The chapter concludes with a series of proposed remedies that promise to address youth exclusion by enhancing inclusiveness, relevance and receptivity in the development response. The chapter draws from the findings, analysis and reform framework in "The Outcast Majority: War, Development, and Youth in Africa" (Marc Sommers, University of Georgia Press, 2015).
NOTE: This is the near-final draft chapter version.
NOTE: This is the near-final draft chapter version.
Research Interests: African Studies, Gender Studies, Economics, Development Economics, Anthropology, and 17 moreInternational Relations, Education, Development Studies, Peace and Conflict Studies, Youth Studies, Human Rights, Conflict, Political Science, Sustainable Development, Africa, Gender, Social Exclusion, Conflict Resolution, Peace Studies, Peace, Peacebuilding, and Youth
It is widely believed that youth frustration can lead to violence and conflict. Security experts are particularly concerned with young men, especially those in sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East. Negative media images on TV and film... more
It is widely believed that youth frustration can lead to violence and conflict. Security experts are particularly concerned with young men, especially those in sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East. Negative media images on TV and film help reinforce the impression that young men from these two regions are, in general, dangerous. The negative linkage between youth and violence is in fact fueled more by our own fear of male youth than by evidence. A consequence is that the international community and governmental institutions are not doing as well as they could in working with youth in part because of the negative starting point from which they approach youth issues. Drawing on the case of youth in Liberia, this chapter argues that the starting point for engaging youth is to work with the marginalized, economically disempowered youth majority to determine their realities, needs, and priorities.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Gender Studies, International Relations, Peace and Conflict Studies, Youth Studies, International Studies, and 11 moreInternational Development, Genocide Studies, Gender, Youth Culture, Masculinity, Conflict Resolution, Urbanization, Central Africa, Rwanda, Ethnic Conflict and Civil War, and Rwandan Genocide
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Research Interests:
This chapter first attempts to contrast some commonly held perspectives on Africa’s cities and the urban youth who have come to demographically dominate them with a look at how urban youth live in large African cities, particularly those... more
This chapter first attempts to contrast some commonly held perspectives on Africa’s cities and the urban youth who have come to demographically dominate them with a look at how urban youth live in large African cities, particularly those who have been affected by conflict. The chapter then uses these contrasting views of African cities and urban youth to suggest how the challenge of youth unemployment in war-affected African cities might be better addressed.
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Education programmes can incorporate the skills, understanding and attitudes needed for peace and conflict prevention. But can peace education be justified when agencies are already stretched to provide basic education and needs? Is it... more
Education programmes can incorporate the skills, understanding and attitudes needed for peace and conflict prevention. But can peace education be justified when agencies are already stretched to provide basic education and needs? Is it possible to make initiatives socially and culturally relevant to people experiencing extreme stress? This book chapter examines peace education concepts, assumptions and programmes that are being conducted by international humanitarian agencies for refugee populations. It highlights the lives of refugee youth, a primary peace education target group. Findings center on a promising peace education programme run by UNHCR for refugees in Kenya and Uganda.
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This field guide is composed of five parts and two appendices. Section II, The Issues, details the difficulty of defining ‘youth’, explains the reasons for targeting assistance to support youth, and discusses common challenges facing... more
This field guide is composed of five parts and two appendices. Section II, The Issues, details the difficulty of defining ‘youth’, explains the reasons for targeting assistance to support youth, and discusses common challenges facing youth in times of crisis. Section III presents the International Framework of legal parameters and policies relevant to youth programs.
Section IV, Programming Guidance, presents key lessons learned about programming for and with youth in crisis worldwide, both in traditional emergency settings and other situations. Section IV then program examples as well as common obstacles to developing programs for youth in crisis. The last part of this section discusses how to develop situation assessments as well as monitoring and evaluation tools. Section V, the Conclusion, presents a checklist of issues to consider when working with youth in crisis and emergencies.
Section IV, Programming Guidance, presents key lessons learned about programming for and with youth in crisis worldwide, both in traditional emergency settings and other situations. Section IV then program examples as well as common obstacles to developing programs for youth in crisis. The last part of this section discusses how to develop situation assessments as well as monitoring and evaluation tools. Section V, the Conclusion, presents a checklist of issues to consider when working with youth in crisis and emergencies.
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Although the Transitional Government of Ethiopia's desire to decentralize education has been popular in Tigray Region, it has summoned different conceptions of whet a decentralized education system should look like, and then how it should... more
Although the Transitional Government of Ethiopia's desire to decentralize education has been popular in Tigray Region, it has summoned different conceptions of whet a decentralized education system should look like, and then how it should be implemented. And though Tigrayans collectively share a remarkably strong desire to increase access to schools and enhance educational quality, the Decentralization Study Team's field research and organized workshops have revealed how members of the public, and officials within the education system, have yet to arrive at a consensus over how responsibility and authority between school communities and tbe three levels of the newly regionalized education system should be shared. Drawing from intensive fieldwork from a team of qualitative and quantitative researchers, this report examines the context and contours of this ongoing debate.
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The second year of the Leadership and Communication Capacity for National Renewal Program (LCCNR) in Timor-Leste took place from Oct. 2008 through Oct. 2009. It featured a considerable effort to train and encourage trainees to advance... more
The second year of the Leadership and Communication Capacity for National Renewal Program (LCCNR) in Timor-Leste took place from Oct. 2008 through Oct. 2009. It featured a considerable effort to train and encourage trainees to advance their expertise and confidence as communicators and negotiators, which program officials consider to be central components of leadership.
The LCCNR program trained 107 Timorese fairly extensively in its second program year. They invested a high degree of expense, effort and time to enhance the leadership, communication and negotiation skills of their trainees. On balance, emphasizing quality for a small number of trainees, given the prodigious contextual and educational constraints confronting most trainees, proved to be the right choice.
Overall, again given the challenges that LCCNR faced in training Timorese, the program proved very successful in its training work. Its adaptability to changing contexts, its decision to produce and distribute a training manual, and its success at enhancing the capacities of Timorese officials with LCCNR, were all noteworthy as well as direct contributors to its overall success.
The LCCNR program trained 107 Timorese fairly extensively in its second program year. They invested a high degree of expense, effort and time to enhance the leadership, communication and negotiation skills of their trainees. On balance, emphasizing quality for a small number of trainees, given the prodigious contextual and educational constraints confronting most trainees, proved to be the right choice.
Overall, again given the challenges that LCCNR faced in training Timorese, the program proved very successful in its training work. Its adaptability to changing contexts, its decision to produce and distribute a training manual, and its success at enhancing the capacities of Timorese officials with LCCNR, were all noteworthy as well as direct contributors to its overall success.
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This final evaluation report details the impact of the Community Based Leadership Training Program for Post-War Burundi (CBLP) five months after it ended. It focuses on whether the CBLP's training program had succeeded in empowering local... more
This final evaluation report details the impact of the Community Based Leadership Training Program for Post-War Burundi (CBLP) five months after it ended. It focuses on whether the CBLP's training program had succeeded in empowering local communities and promoting local leaders to successfully work together to solve common problems.
Research Interests: Program Evaluation, Peace and Conflict Studies, International Development, Evaluation Research, Monitoring And Evaluation, and 11 moreAfrica, Measurement and Evaluation, Conflict Resolution, Central Africa, Community Capacity Building, Human Rights, International Development, Diversity, Training, Capacity Building, Peacebuilding, Corporate Social Responsibility Youth Leadership, Conflict Resolution, Burundi, Post-genocide Rwanda and Burundi, Post-War Reconstruction, Peace Building and Confict Resolution, and Post Conflict Issues
The purpose of the evaluation was to assess whether USAID’s Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI) had achieved its country program goals of positively affecting the Sierra Leone peace process and supporting reconciliation and... more
The purpose of the evaluation was to assess whether USAID’s Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI) had achieved its country program goals of positively affecting the Sierra Leone peace process and supporting reconciliation and reintegration. Particular attention was paid to two activities: the Diamond Management Program (DMP); and the Youth Reintegration and Education for Peace Program (YRTEP). The focus was on OTI’s experience following the Lome Peace Accord, which was signed in July 1999.
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While Paul Kagame, Rwanda's president, leads a government that is renowned for reducing corruption, expanding security, addressing genocidal crimes and increasing women’s rights, he does not merit his reputation as a visionary modernizer.... more
While Paul Kagame, Rwanda's president, leads a government that is renowned for reducing corruption, expanding security, addressing genocidal crimes and increasing women’s rights, he does not merit his reputation as a visionary modernizer. The reason is simple: his state is all about force. Since it is far too dangerous for Rwandans to advocate against state coercion, foreign governments and individuals must push for easing or removing restrictions on the press, politics, civil society, housing, street vending and much more.
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Governments and international institutions have been slow to recognise, accept and address the shift of refugees to cities. UNHCR's report on this issue is to be commended, as it calls attention to an urgent concern with global... more
Governments and international institutions have been slow to recognise, accept and address the shift of refugees to cities. UNHCR's report on this issue is to be commended, as it calls attention to an urgent concern with global implications. It is also a significant and positive step away from the agency's previous grudging acceptance of urban refugee realities.
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Long overshadowed by conflicts in the Middle East, Darfur, Iraq, and Afghanistan, extensive, predatory terrorism – largely of a sexual nature – continues to attack the heart of Africa. The idea that the international community has a... more
Long overshadowed by conflicts in the Middle East, Darfur, Iraq, and Afghanistan, extensive, predatory terrorism – largely of a sexual nature – continues to attack the heart of Africa. The idea that the international community has a "responsibility to protect" innocent civilians must be given meaning, and nowhere is this more important than in eastern Congo. Military groups there are using rape as a devastating weapon of war.
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Participants spoke about the state of the education in Sudan and lessons learned after 21 years of civil war which left Southern Sudan with one of the weakest education systems in the world. Since the Comprehensive Peace Agreement was... more
Participants spoke about the state of the education in Sudan and lessons learned after 21 years of civil war which left Southern Sudan with one of the weakest education systems in the world. Since the Comprehensive Peace Agreement was signed in 2005, considerable effort has focused on constructing a basic education system. They also spoke about the unique problems of building an educational system in Sudan and future challenges to improving education in the war-torn country. They answered questions from the audience.
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Dr Marc Sommers discussed the priorities and perspectives of Africa's young people, and explained how governments and international agencies address the challenges they present. He gave examples from the work of the United States'... more
Dr Marc Sommers discussed the priorities and perspectives of Africa's young people, and explained how governments and international agencies address the challenges they present. He gave examples from the work of the United States' Department of State and its Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations. The presentation concluded with ideas that promise to make development work more effective for, and relevant to, young people.
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Marc Sommers, an internationally recognized expert on youth with research experience in more than 20 war-affected countries, examined the forces that shape and propel the lives of African youth today, particularly those experiencing or... more
Marc Sommers, an internationally recognized expert on youth with research experience in more than 20 war-affected countries, examined the forces that shape and propel the lives of African youth today, particularly those experiencing or emerging from violent conflict, for his recent book The Outcast Majority: War, Development, and Youth in Africa. The U.S. Institute of Peace was streamed live by webcast on Wednesday, Sept. 7. It featured a discussion with Sommers as part of USIP's 60 days of focus on youth, peace and equality.
Research Interests: Demography, African Studies, Gender Studies, Anthropology, International Relations, and 15 moreDevelopment Studies, Peace and Conflict Studies, Youth Studies, Human Rights, Qualitative methodology, International Security, Conflict, Political Science, Sustainable Development, Africa, International Political Economy, Gender, Qualitative Research, Conflict Resolution, and Youth
The following presentation took place on Sept. 26, 2014 at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, National Defense University, Washington, DC. Affiliated with the African Studies Center at Boston University, Marc Sommers is an... more
The following presentation took place on Sept. 26, 2014 at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, National Defense University, Washington, DC.
Affiliated with the African Studies Center at Boston University, Marc Sommers is an internationally recognized expert on youth concerns in war and post-war countries. After serving as the headmaster of a girls’ school in Kenya and directing a Red Cross-sponsored community health program in New York, Marc earned his Ph.D. in anthropology from Boston University, choosing as his dissertation topic the plight of Burundi refugee youth who were hiding illegally in urban Tanzania. In his career as an academic and practitioner, Sommers’ research continues to focus on African youth. He has taught at The Fletcher School, Tufts University and consulted for a wide array of agencies and institutes, carrying out assessment and evaluation work that largely focused on gender, education, child soldier, conflict negotiation, urbanization and coordination issues, in addition to youth. His many publications include "Fear in Bongoland: Burundi Refugees in Urban Tanzania" (Berghahn Books, 2001), which won the 2003 Margaret Mead Award, and "Stuck: Rwandan Youth and the Struggle for Adulthood" (University of Georgia Press, 2012). His research at the Woodrow Wilson Center contrasts the priorities of youth in war and post-war Africa with government and international agency responses to youth challenges.
Affiliated with the African Studies Center at Boston University, Marc Sommers is an internationally recognized expert on youth concerns in war and post-war countries. After serving as the headmaster of a girls’ school in Kenya and directing a Red Cross-sponsored community health program in New York, Marc earned his Ph.D. in anthropology from Boston University, choosing as his dissertation topic the plight of Burundi refugee youth who were hiding illegally in urban Tanzania. In his career as an academic and practitioner, Sommers’ research continues to focus on African youth. He has taught at The Fletcher School, Tufts University and consulted for a wide array of agencies and institutes, carrying out assessment and evaluation work that largely focused on gender, education, child soldier, conflict negotiation, urbanization and coordination issues, in addition to youth. His many publications include "Fear in Bongoland: Burundi Refugees in Urban Tanzania" (Berghahn Books, 2001), which won the 2003 Margaret Mead Award, and "Stuck: Rwandan Youth and the Struggle for Adulthood" (University of Georgia Press, 2012). His research at the Woodrow Wilson Center contrasts the priorities of youth in war and post-war Africa with government and international agency responses to youth challenges.
Research Interests: African Studies, Gender Studies, Anthropology, International Relations, Education, and 14 morePeace and Conflict Studies, Youth Studies, Human Rights, Qualitative methodology, Social and Cultural Anthropology, Conflict, Political Science, Africa, Gender, Youth Culture, Evaluation, Qualitative Research, Conflict Resolution, and Youth
The speech expresses the author's delight and honor from receiving the Jackie Kirk Award for 2017. It also describes Sommers' past interaction with Dr. Kirk, noting that, as a research with similar perspectives and focus, she was a... more
The speech expresses the author's delight and honor from receiving the Jackie Kirk Award for 2017. It also describes Sommers' past interaction with Dr. Kirk, noting that, as a research with similar perspectives and focus, she was a kindrid spirit. The motivation for writing “Outcast Majority,” which grew over two decades of work as a researcher, evaluator, and advisor, is detailed, as it had become clear to Sommers that approaches for addressing the priorities of colossal populations of young people were unlikely to work. The result is "The Outcast Majority," which aims to advance our understanding of Africa’s youth and propose a new way to think about, and respond to, the challenges and promise which youth embody.
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The acceptance speech -- in text and as a video link -- for Honorable Mention for the Senior Book Prize is provided here. The biannual award was presented by the American Ethnological Society on November 19, 2016. The book, "The Outcast... more
The acceptance speech -- in text and as a video link -- for Honorable Mention for the Senior Book Prize is provided here. The biannual award was presented by the American Ethnological Society on November 19, 2016. The book, "The Outcast Majority: War, Development, and Youth in Africa," by Marc Sommers, received the award. Included in the award speech, by Prof. Shalini Shankar, is the following:
"'The Outcast Majority' is a powerful manifesto for youth inclusion and for rethinking development doctrine and practices from top to bottom. It is also a model of how ethnographic research can tackle the largest and most meaningful problems, report findings in accessible language and suggest compelling policy alternatives."
"'The Outcast Majority' is a powerful manifesto for youth inclusion and for rethinking development doctrine and practices from top to bottom. It is also a model of how ethnographic research can tackle the largest and most meaningful problems, report findings in accessible language and suggest compelling policy alternatives."
Research Interests: African Studies, Gender Studies, Economics, Development Economics, International Relations, and 28 moreEducation, Development Studies, Youth Studies, Human Rights, Refugee Studies, Popular Culture, Mixed Methods, Qualitative methodology, Community Development, Sustainable Development, Africa, Gender and Sexuality, Emerging Adulthood, Gender, Qualitative Research, Quantitative Methods, Sierra Leone, Masculinities, Rwanda, Mixed Methods Research, Democratic Republic of Congo, Youth, Malnutrition, Child Soldiers, Framework, Post-genocide Rwanda and Burundi, Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief, and South Sudan
Dr. Marc Sommers, an internationally recognized youth, conflict, education and gender expert and an award-winning author, told participants that there is a need to debunk many myths about youth, one of which is the assumption that young... more
Dr. Marc Sommers, an internationally recognized youth, conflict, education and gender expert and an award-winning author, told participants that there is a need to debunk many myths about youth, one of which is the assumption that young people necessarily engage in violence at the slightest sign of social, economic or political exclusion.
Competing definitions of youth is a significant aspect of the problem according to Dr. Sommers. He explained that the term “youth” is a code word for “young men” and largely ignores women. “Interventions targeting women and girls tend to be grouped under the term gender, as a result of which young women are more or less completely left out of youth initiatives despite the fact that many child-headed households are led by girls,” he noted.
The other problem has to do with what he called “the tendency to ignore class differences among youth.”
Competing definitions of youth is a significant aspect of the problem according to Dr. Sommers. He explained that the term “youth” is a code word for “young men” and largely ignores women. “Interventions targeting women and girls tend to be grouped under the term gender, as a result of which young women are more or less completely left out of youth initiatives despite the fact that many child-headed households are led by girls,” he noted.
The other problem has to do with what he called “the tendency to ignore class differences among youth.”
Research Interests:
An interview with Dr. Sommers focusing on youth and education in fragile states. The themes of sexual violence, increasing urban migration, education systems, and masculinity are addressed.
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Former Wilson Center fellow Marc Sommers and Mame Khady Diouf. Marc Sommers is a former fellow with the Wilson Centers Africa Program. He's also affiliated with the African Study Center at Boston University. Mame Khady Diouf is former... more
Former Wilson Center fellow Marc Sommers and Mame Khady Diouf. Marc Sommers is a former fellow with the Wilson Centers Africa Program. He's also affiliated with the African Study Center at Boston University. Mame Khady Diouf is former Program Associate with the Wilson Center Africa Program and also with the Project on Leadership and Building State Capacity. We discuss Marc’s newest book, Stuck: Rwandan Youth and the Struggle for Adulthood. It focuses on the challenges faced by Rwandan youth and how the central African nation provides a compelling setting for grasping the new issues the world’s young must confront in a quickly transforming global landscape.
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Professor Marc Sommers is driven by the question, can an international scholar working in a war-affected community do work in a way that gives voice to powerless? He says that things look, feel, and are interpreted differently from below,... more
Professor Marc Sommers is driven by the question, can an international scholar working in a war-affected community do work in a way that gives voice to powerless? He says that things look, feel, and are interpreted differently from below, and therefore as a scholar-researcher, one must always implicitly deal with social class. There are two types of people: those with power and those affected by power. This is different than the distinction between the powerful and powerless. It has less to do with what people do with power, and more about how they affect lives of the powerless. Professor Sommers listed several contextual factors that affect research among war-impacted people, including: assumptions about neighborhoods and communities (within the same geographic area, varied power dynamics exist), trauma, sexual violence, desperation, power, location (need to work away from people who may change power dynamics, i.e. the driver), reasons for telling the truth, and what the researcher will do with the information gathered.
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How can states and agencies counter violent extremism, much less prevent it? It is a challenge in part because countering or preventing violent extremism (CVE or PVE) is a risk averse field buffeted by cautious politics and frightening... more
How can states and agencies counter violent extremism, much less prevent it? It is a challenge in part because countering or preventing violent extremism (CVE or PVE) is a risk averse field buffeted by cautious politics and frightening violent extremist organizations (VEOs). This publication features research findings concerning youth, gender, community and governance. My research strongly suggests that current ‘business-as-usual’ efforts are likely to be ineffective against VEOs. A new approach to addressing the VEO challenges is provided.
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The COVID-19 crisis provides governments with an opportunity to simultaneously transform youth-state relations and minimize the appeal of violent extremist organizations. Here’s how.
Research Interests: International Relations, Political Economy, Education, Development Studies, Epidemiology, and 11 moreYouth Studies, Human Rights, Government, Political Science, Migration Studies, Online Learning, Emergency Management, Mobile application development, Violent Non-State Actors, Countering Violent Extremism, and COVID-19 PANDEMIC
Today’s overwhelming focus on quantitative data and analysis has led to an approach to development that tends to be technocratic, apolitical, and low on context. Despite evidence of success, these approaches give the impression that you... more
Today’s overwhelming focus on quantitative data and analysis has led to an approach to development that tends to be technocratic, apolitical, and low on context. Despite evidence of success, these approaches give the impression that you can do good development without knowing much about your target group, their countries’ governance, or their culture. The setting for my new book, "The Outcast Majority: War, Development, and Youth," is this: development work in Africa takes place in a sea of youth exclusion. For many youth, this world of separation is ever-present; it is virtually impossible for most female and male youth in Africa to attend secondary school, meet culturally specific adulthood requirements, or access a youth program. This post details a prominent youth program weakness and, drawing from the reform framework in "The Outcast Majority," suggests questions that promise to address critical youth program challenges.
Research Interests: Critical Theory, Program Evaluation, African Studies, Gender Studies, Economics, and 26 moreDevelopment Economics, International Relations, Education, Development Studies, Peace and Conflict Studies, Social Research Methods and Methodology, Youth Studies, Adult Education, Research Methodology, International Development, Human Rights, Qualitative methodology, Educational Research, Sustainable Development, Africa, Urban Planning, Gender, Rural Development, Urban Studies, Evaluation, Developing Countries, Quantitative Methods, Research, Urban Development, International Aid and Development, and Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief
"The Outcast Majority: War, Development, and Youth in Africa" is born of a growing sense that the status quo won’t work, in Africa or elsewhere. Enormous youth cohorts containing many who feel socially sidelined calls for a response that,... more
"The Outcast Majority: War, Development, and Youth in Africa" is born of a growing sense that the status quo won’t work, in Africa or elsewhere. Enormous youth cohorts containing many who feel socially sidelined calls for a response that, at best, is sporadically seen. The book aims to shed penetrating light on the lives of war-affected African youth and the workings of international development. It ends by addressing the gap that lies between, proposing a framework for transforming established practice and empowering severely underestimated young people in a way that promises to make aid significantly more relevant, effective, and inclusive generally and specifically with regard to youth in war-affected Africa and elsewhere.
Research Interests: Gender Studies, Development Economics, Anthropology, International Relations, Education, and 17 moreDevelopment Studies, Peace and Conflict Studies, Youth Studies, Research Methodology, Human Rights, Community Development, Social and Cultural Anthropology, International Security, War Studies, Sustainable Development, Gender and Sexuality, Gender, Rural Development, Urban Studies, Social Exclusion, Urban Sociology, and Social Inequality
As the largest-ever generation of young people enters adulthood, armed conflict is having a profound effect on their future. People under the age of 24 comprise nearly half the world’s population but are the primary participants in... more
As the largest-ever generation of young people enters adulthood, armed conflict is having a profound effect on their future. People under the age of 24 comprise nearly half the world’s population but are the primary participants in conflict today. Conflict is more prevalent in younger societies, and half of all forcibly displaced people are children.
“Young men and women everywhere want to be safe, educated, and respected,” said Anne Richard, assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, at the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) last month. But for those fleeing deadly clashes in Syria and South Sudan, unending military service in Eritrea, or crime and poverty in Central America, such a life may seem out of reach.
“Young men and women everywhere want to be safe, educated, and respected,” said Anne Richard, assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, at the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) last month. But for those fleeing deadly clashes in Syria and South Sudan, unending military service in Eritrea, or crime and poverty in Central America, such a life may seem out of reach.
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In my presentation at the Youth, Conflict and Governance in Africa workshop at Yale University on March 1, 2014, I drew from findings and analysis in the third chapter of my forthcoming book, "The Outcast Majority: War, Development and... more
In my presentation at the Youth, Conflict and Governance in Africa workshop at Yale University on March 1, 2014, I drew from findings and analysis in the third chapter of my forthcoming book, "The Outcast Majority: War, Development and Africa’s Youth" (University of Georgia Press, 2015). I spoke about urbanization, employment and livelihoods with reference to African youth and conflict. In my talk, I made four main points. First, I emphasized that cities are important destinations during and after wars. Second, there are ideas about what youth should do during and after wars that conflict with their actions. Third, it is important to see cities as enmeshed in morality. The final point I made concerned the difference between work and livelihoods.
Research Interests: International Relations, Peace and Conflict Studies, Youth Studies, International Studies, International Development, and 11 moreConflict, Urban Studies, Youth Culture, Conflict Resolution, Peace & Conflict Studies, Employment, Urban, Peacebuilding, Youth, Sustainable Livelihoods, and Social Conflict
The article first sheds light on some research findings with adolescents in rural and urban Burundi. It then lists twelve lessons (or insights) that promise to apply directly to other post-war development and reconstruction contexts.
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"Several years ago, I wrote that the central irony concerning Africa’s urban youth was that “they are a demographic majority that sees itself as an outcast minority.” Since that time, field research with rural and urban youth in war and... more
"Several years ago, I wrote that the central irony concerning Africa’s urban youth was that “they are a demographic majority that sees itself as an outcast minority.” Since that time, field research with rural and urban youth in war and postwar contexts within and beyond Africa has led me to revise this assertion. The irony appears to apply to most developing country youth regardless of their location.
Research for this book underscores the relevance of this unfortunate irony. Youth who felt overlooked and misunderstood ran like a deep, wide river through the field data for this book. "
Research for this book underscores the relevance of this unfortunate irony. Youth who felt overlooked and misunderstood ran like a deep, wide river through the field data for this book. "
Research Interests: Gender Studies, International Relations, Youth Studies, International Studies, International Development, and 11 moreInternational Security, Gender and Sexuality, International Political Economy, Gender, Rural Development, Urban Studies, Youth Culture, Masculinity, Housing, Gender and Development, and Youth
Although Africa has a youth-dominated population, African government policies are often not youth-centered and African governments and their international supporters are frequently under-informed about the priorities of most youth.... more
Although Africa has a youth-dominated population, African government policies are often not youth-centered and African governments and their international supporters are frequently under-informed about the priorities of most youth. Reliance on the “youth bulge and instability thesis” leads to distorted assessments of everyday realities. Examination of the lives, priorities, and cultural contexts of African youth, and the cases of youth in Rwanda and Burundi in particular, shows that the nature of relations between the state and massive populations of young, marginalized, and alienated citizens directly impacts the governance, security, and development prospects of African nations.
Research Interests: African Studies, International Relations, Development Studies, Peace and Conflict Studies, Youth Studies, and 19 moreInternational Studies, International Development, Postcolonial Studies, International Security, Security, Sustainable Development, Africa, Security Studies, Urban Studies, Youth Culture, Peace & Conflict Studies, International, Rwanda, Development, Peacebuilding, Youth, Demographics, Rwandan Genocide, and Post-genocide Rwanda and Burundi
Quelle est la situation des adolescents au Burundi aujourd’hui ? En quoi leurs conditions et leurs trajectoires contribuent-elles à augmenter ou réduire les perspectives de conflit violent dans ce pays en situation d’après-guerre ? Le... more
Quelle est la situation des adolescents au Burundi aujourd’hui ? En quoi leurs conditions et leurs trajectoires contribuent-elles à augmenter ou réduire les perspectives de conflit violent dans ce pays en situation d’après-guerre ? Le présent rapport se fonde sur des recherches effectuées à la fin de l’année 2012 sur le terrain, pour traiter ces questions, tant dans des régions rurales qu’urbaines du Burundi. La recherche a porté sur l’impact de la faim, de l’inflation, de la pauvreté et de la migration urbaine sur la vie des adolescents. Elle a également mis en lumière la multitude d’orphelins et de mères celibataires dans la population adolescente et soulevé de questions importantes concernant la gouvernance, l’éducation, l’emploi et la transition à l’age d’adulte dans le pays. Le rapport se conclut par des recommandations en vue d’améliorer la situation des adolescents et contribuer à la consolidation de la paix au Burundi.
Research Interests: Gender Studies, International Relations, Education, Peace and Conflict Studies, Youth Studies, and 13 moreInternational Development, Refugee Studies, Conflict, Comparative & International Education, Land tenure, Adolescent Development, Young Adulthood, Gender, Youth Culture, Refugees, Youth, Adolescents, and Peace Building and Confict Resolution
Este artículo describe algunas de las tendencias y perfiles dominantes de la urbanización de África y analiza cómo es ser una persona de entre 10 y 24 anos en una gran ciudad africana.
Research Interests: Urban Geography, African Studies, Latin American Studies, Gender Studies, Economics, and 22 moreDevelopment Economics, International Relations, Political Economy, Education, Development Studies, Youth Studies, International Studies, Urbanization in Developing Areas, International Development, Urban Anthropology, Africa, Gender and Sexuality, Gender, Urban Studies, Youth Culture, Urbanism, Urban Sociology, Urbanization, Sub-Saharan Africa, Youth, Arquitetura e Urbanismo, and Effectiveness of Foreign Aid in Sub Saharan Africa
The dual purposes of this course are to illuminate the frequently overlooked community perspectives of African wars – the views, essentially, from below – and assess the implications of these perspectives on policy and practice. The... more
The dual purposes of this course are to illuminate the frequently overlooked community perspectives of African wars – the views, essentially, from below – and assess the implications of these perspectives on policy and practice. The course will draw on a variety of sources, all of which aim to reveal aspects of how warfare and communities in Africa intersect, and how national and international actors might enhance their work. Through this process of inquiry and analysis, students will be encouraged to re-assess biases, assumptions and predispositions about the practice and impact of war, and contemplate whether new understandings can or should effect collective action.
Research Interests: Gender Studies, Anthropology, International Relations, Peace and Conflict Studies, Youth Studies, and 31 moreInternational Studies, International Development, Community Engagement & Participation, Community Development, Social and Cultural Anthropology, Conflict, War Studies, Africa, Child Development, Sexual Violence, West Africa, Gender, Youth Culture, Masculinity, East Africa, Sierra Leone, Masculinities, Conflict Resolution, Peace & Conflict Studies, Central Africa, Liberia, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, Peacebuilding, Youth, Burundi, Child Soldiers, Post-genocide Rwanda and Burundi, South Sudan, and Community participation and engagement
This course is designed to develop: (1) An understanding of the potential risks, dangers, challenges and constraints involved in working in war and post-war contexts; (2) The ability to devise resourceful, ethical, and appropriate... more
This course is designed to develop:
(1) An understanding of the potential risks, dangers, challenges and constraints involved in working in war and post-war contexts;
(2) The ability to devise resourceful, ethical, and appropriate responses to them; and
(3) Knowledge of qualitative field research fundamentals.
“Qualitative Research in Communities Affected by War” is intended for students who are thinking of working in war or post-war situations, or on war-related issues. While it will of course address qualitative research issues and methods, the course is also aimed at developing a deeper understanding of community dynamics in war and post-war contexts and providing practical instruction about how to effectively and ethically gather useful information about such communities.
As a result, the course is designed not only for researchers but for others who aim to somehow assist or engage with war-affected communities in the future.
(1) An understanding of the potential risks, dangers, challenges and constraints involved in working in war and post-war contexts;
(2) The ability to devise resourceful, ethical, and appropriate responses to them; and
(3) Knowledge of qualitative field research fundamentals.
“Qualitative Research in Communities Affected by War” is intended for students who are thinking of working in war or post-war situations, or on war-related issues. While it will of course address qualitative research issues and methods, the course is also aimed at developing a deeper understanding of community dynamics in war and post-war contexts and providing practical instruction about how to effectively and ethically gather useful information about such communities.
As a result, the course is designed not only for researchers but for others who aim to somehow assist or engage with war-affected communities in the future.
Research Interests:
Today’s human population is history’s youngest. About half the world’s people are under age twenty-five. A billion and a half of them are youth, and 86% of youth live in the developing world. While this situation has created an... more
Today’s human population is history’s youngest. About half the world’s people are under age twenty-five. A billion and a half of them are youth, and 86% of youth live in the developing world. While this situation has created an unprecedented set of challenges for those addressing development issues, the situation is still more pressing in war-torn nations, since virtually all wars in the world today take place in unusually ‘young’ nations and enormous youth cohorts directly challenge efforts to rebuild governments, societies and peace in those nations.
‘Youth & Conflict’ will consider some of the dimensions of the youth challenge in conflict-affected contexts, probe the views and experiences of youth who have endured wars, and explore possible responses to these challenges. Among the topics that will be addressed are: how, why and whether war-affected youth can become adults; gendered experiences, priorities and possible solutions to youth needs; sexual violence; and child soldiering and returning ex-combatant youngsters to civilian life. Given the enormous and diverse challenges that vast numbers of war-affected youth present, students of this course will be pushed to consider both youth concerns and the colossal program and policy issues they create. Particular attention will be paid to African context.
‘Youth & Conflict’ will consider some of the dimensions of the youth challenge in conflict-affected contexts, probe the views and experiences of youth who have endured wars, and explore possible responses to these challenges. Among the topics that will be addressed are: how, why and whether war-affected youth can become adults; gendered experiences, priorities and possible solutions to youth needs; sexual violence; and child soldiering and returning ex-combatant youngsters to civilian life. Given the enormous and diverse challenges that vast numbers of war-affected youth present, students of this course will be pushed to consider both youth concerns and the colossal program and policy issues they create. Particular attention will be paid to African context.
Research Interests:
Marc Sommers, a specialist in youth and development in war and postwar settings, offers a refreshing reframing of this situation as one of exclusion. In his book "The Outcast Majority," youth are not the problem. The real problem is a... more
Marc Sommers, a specialist in youth and development in war and postwar settings, offers a refreshing reframing of this situation as one of
exclusion. In his book "The Outcast Majority," youth are not the problem. The real problem is a deeper structural dilemma facing many African societies, especially those affected by recent wars. Quite simply, it has become much harder for young people to find opportunities to raise the money they need to get married and take care of a family. This situation puts the prerequisites of social adulthood beyond the grasp of vast numbers of young people.
The central strength of "The Outcast Majority" lies in Sommers’ attention to the lives of youth who have built up a stock of knowledge under conditions of great pressure and rapid change. He draws
from his extensive professional experience of talking to and listening to youth. Sommers hits the mark in identifying the paradigms of order and
control that appeal to people who have a lot of reasons to hold marginalized youth in contempt. He is also right to point to the emerging logic and practices of marginalized people, which are not easily quantified but are critical indicators of the revolution in social relationships that grows out of war and dislocation. In global historical terms, the unfolding of such a process in Africa is hardly exceptional, but it takes a book like "The Outcast Majority" to begin to bring this new world into focus.
exclusion. In his book "The Outcast Majority," youth are not the problem. The real problem is a deeper structural dilemma facing many African societies, especially those affected by recent wars. Quite simply, it has become much harder for young people to find opportunities to raise the money they need to get married and take care of a family. This situation puts the prerequisites of social adulthood beyond the grasp of vast numbers of young people.
The central strength of "The Outcast Majority" lies in Sommers’ attention to the lives of youth who have built up a stock of knowledge under conditions of great pressure and rapid change. He draws
from his extensive professional experience of talking to and listening to youth. Sommers hits the mark in identifying the paradigms of order and
control that appeal to people who have a lot of reasons to hold marginalized youth in contempt. He is also right to point to the emerging logic and practices of marginalized people, which are not easily quantified but are critical indicators of the revolution in social relationships that grows out of war and dislocation. In global historical terms, the unfolding of such a process in Africa is hardly exceptional, but it takes a book like "The Outcast Majority" to begin to bring this new world into focus.
Research Interests: Sociology, Demography, African Studies, Gender Studies, Anthropology, and 20 moreInternational Relations, Peace and Conflict Studies, Youth Studies, International Development, Human Rights, Qualitative methodology, Social and Cultural Anthropology, Post-conflict Reconstruction and Development, Political Science, Africa, Security Studies, Gender, Masculinity, Evaluation, Female Genital Mutilation, Diplomacy, Qualitative Research, Democracy, Youth, and Cultural and Social Anthropology
The study of youth in Africa focuses our attention on a number of converging themes: state fragility, economic problems, demographic imbalances, exclusionary mechanisms, precarious or degrading survival strategies, and “youth cultures” as... more
The study of youth in Africa focuses our attention on a number of converging themes: state fragility, economic problems, demographic imbalances, exclusionary mechanisms, precarious or degrading survival strategies, and “youth cultures” as marginal or alternative ways of expression and existence. Over the past decade or so there has been a spate of new studies on youth in Africa, but few have the coverage and original scope that Marc Sommers’s study has, bringing these lines together. It is a really original contribution to both scholarship and policy thinking, drawing on the author’s extensive travels and fieldwork as a researcher-consultant in Africa, as well as on earlier academic and NGO-based studies. This is a great book that deserves a wide readership and serious attention, especially in view of the staggering challenges ahead.
Research Interests: Sociology, Demography, African Studies, Gender Studies, Anthropology, and 30 moreInternational Relations, Political Economy, Education, Peace and Conflict Studies, Youth Studies, International Studies, Research Methodology, International Development, Human Rights, Qualitative methodology, International Security, Conflict, Political Science, Africa, Child Development, Security Studies, Gender, Urban Studies, Masculinity, Evaluation, Female Genital Mutilation, Diplomacy, Food and Nutrition, Conflict Resolution, Conflict Management, Peacebuilding, Youth, Child Soldiers, Social Conflict, and Fundraising, growing philanthropy, donor behavior
The Outcast Majority: War, Development, and Youth in Africa is born of a growing sense that the status quo won’t work, in Africa or elsewhere. Enormous youth cohorts, containing many who feel socially sidelined, call for a response that,... more
The Outcast Majority: War, Development, and Youth in Africa is born of a growing sense that the status quo won’t work, in Africa or elsewhere. Enormous youth cohorts, containing many who feel socially sidelined, call for a response that, at best, is sporadically seen.
The too-common separateness of many ordinary youth raises questions about hallowed development concepts like “community” and “civil society.” Popular macroeconomic remedies for post-war African states tend to run counter to youth ambitions, toward developing rural agriculture and the formal sector while youth increasingly rush into cities and the informal economy.
The Outcast Majority invites policymakers, practitioners, academics, students, and others to think about three commanding contemporary issues – war, development, and youth – in new ways. It encourages thoughtful reflection on what should be done for booming populations of youth, and not just those in nations affected by conflict in sub-Saharan Africa. In today’s increasingly youth-dominated world, the issues and proposed reforms detailed in the book are relevant to other places where vast and vibrant youth cohorts reside.
The too-common separateness of many ordinary youth raises questions about hallowed development concepts like “community” and “civil society.” Popular macroeconomic remedies for post-war African states tend to run counter to youth ambitions, toward developing rural agriculture and the formal sector while youth increasingly rush into cities and the informal economy.
The Outcast Majority invites policymakers, practitioners, academics, students, and others to think about three commanding contemporary issues – war, development, and youth – in new ways. It encourages thoughtful reflection on what should be done for booming populations of youth, and not just those in nations affected by conflict in sub-Saharan Africa. In today’s increasingly youth-dominated world, the issues and proposed reforms detailed in the book are relevant to other places where vast and vibrant youth cohorts reside.
Research Interests:
The Outcast Majority is continental in scope and draws on a massive amount of documentary material and extensive in-depth interviews with war-affected youth in many countries, among them Sierra Leone, Liberia, Rwanda, and Burundi. It... more
The Outcast Majority is continental in scope and draws on a massive amount of documentary material and extensive in-depth interviews with war-affected youth in many countries, among them Sierra Leone, Liberia, Rwanda, and Burundi. It sheds new light on problems of development and underdevelopment, war and peace, gender and generation, social exclusion and rural-urban and international migration. Written in refreshingly lucid prose, The Outcast Majority vividly portrays how people endure the traumas of war and its aftermath.
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
"People," writes Johnathan Bascom in The Migration Experience, "are on the move all across Africa" (p. 197). Among voluntary migrants, and, increasingly, involuntary migrants as well, much of this movement is directed at African cities.... more
"People," writes Johnathan Bascom in The Migration Experience, "are on the move all across Africa" (p. 197). Among voluntary migrants, and, increasingly, involuntary migrants as well, much of this movement is directed at African cities. Some of these cities are expanding at a rate that, according to Eugene Linden, is unprecedented in recorded world history. It is somewhat surprising that the contributors to The Migration Experience in Africa underplay this extraordinary feature of African migration. The breadth of their coverage of migration issues, on the other hand, is impressive. From analy- ses of migration theory and the implications of migration on rural households to the rising significance of refugees and women migrants, the book's many contributors have covered a remarkable amount of ground about the migration phenomena on the African continent.
Research Interests:
Liisa Malkki's captivating study focuses on two groups of refugees in Tanzania who had fled Burundi's 1972 genocide. One group lived in a remote refugee camp and used their terrifying history and displacement to reinterpret past and... more
Liisa Malkki's captivating study focuses on two groups of refugees in Tanzania who had fled Burundi's 1972 genocide. One group lived in a remote refugee camp and used their terrifying history and displacement to reinterpret past and current experiences and purify themselves as a collectivity of ethnic Hutus. In contrast, the second group lived in a town near the Burundian border and practiced "strategies of invisibility" (p. 155) to avoid refugee identification and focus on the pragmatics of succeeding as individual exiles. While the town case constitutes an important contribution to our knowledge of urban refugees, it is the involved description of the camp refugees' remarkable "mythico-history" that will undoubtedly attract the most attention. After discovering "standard versions of events routinely produc[ing] themselves" (p 58) during interviews, Malkki created "panels" of narrative text to represent the camp refugees' collective thinking. The mythico-history of Purity and Exile is more than an interesting cultural construction: it is a framework that often means life or death in Central Africa.
Research Interests:
Prunier displays a gift for drawing upon unusual resources to help illuminate Rwanda's tragedy. He uses Mary Shelley's Frankenstein to underscore the lasting power of Rwanda's ethnic mythology in one passage, and compares French histo-... more
Prunier displays a gift for drawing upon unusual resources to help illuminate Rwanda's tragedy. He uses Mary Shelley's Frankenstein to underscore the lasting power of Rwanda's ethnic mythology in one passage, and compares French histo- rial revisionism of Rwandan troubles to neo-Nazi tales in another. This effort to make Rwandans and the genocide that took place there accessible and understand- able informs Prunier' s purpose and approach. The Rwanda Crisis is written with clarity and passion. Prunier's essential intent is basic-in challenging the pervasive idea that "Africa is a place of darkness, where furious savages clobber each other on the head to assuage their dark ancestral bloodlusts," he hopes that "If this book does nothing other than dispel this feeling (which sneaks even into the recesses of many 'liberal' minds), it would already have fulfilled its main purpose" (p. xii). The book makes great strides in that direction.
Research Interests:
While the expanse and intensity of Liberia's catastrophe contains enough human and environmental disaster to fill a thousand novels, it has not attracted much attention from the outside world. Fortunately, Desiree Nilsson has compiled a... more
While the expanse and intensity of Liberia's catastrophe contains enough human and environmental disaster to fill a thousand novels, it has not attracted much attention from the outside world. Fortunately, Desiree Nilsson has compiled a much-needed assessment of what literature exists, which she describes as "a state of the art review of the research that has been conducted to date on the refu- gees and internally displaced in Liberia" (p. 7). In a brief but highly useful docu- ment, Nilsson works her way through a wide range of crucial topics with a clear and concise writing style. Even when the topics descend into concerns over profound human rights abuses-such as when Nilsson concludes that "the sever- ity of the sexual exploitation and sexual violence that have taken place has been unprecedented" (p. 22)-the author's tone remains modulated and precise.
Research Interests:
Feeling forgotten appears to be something that nearly all of the world's war- affected share. It is indeed remarkable to realize how this feeling surfaces in virtually every war context, whether among refugees, the internally displaced,... more
Feeling forgotten appears to be something that nearly all of the world's war- affected share. It is indeed remarkable to realize how this feeling surfaces in virtually every war context, whether among refugees, the internally displaced, people who never fled their home areas (who are, alas, further burdened with the unfortunate label "stayee"), or, as detailed in Laura Hammond's important book, after people return to their home country once conflicts end and peace reportedly surfaces. It is a sad yet triumphant tale, and it invites the sense that repatriating refugees richly deserve not only the attention and funding of humanitarian agencies, but a chance to explain both how they made it and how they should be properly supported.
Research Interests:
A radio interview with lead author Marc Sommers took place at the Voice of America (VOA) studios in Washington, DC in 2011. The U.S Institute of Peace Special Report, "Dowry and Division: Youth and State Building in South Sudan," found... more
A radio interview with lead author Marc Sommers took place at the Voice of America (VOA) studios in Washington, DC in 2011.
The U.S Institute of Peace Special Report, "Dowry and Division: Youth and State Building in South Sudan," found that most South Sudanese youth are undereducated and underemployed, and their priorities and perspectives are largely unknown. To address this critical knowledge gap, the authors conducted field research between April and May 2011 with youth, adults, and government and nongovernment officials in Juba and two South Sudanese states. The increasing inability of male youth to meet rising dowry (bride price) demands was the main research finding. Unable to meet these demands, many male youth enlist in militias, join cattle raids, or seek wives from different ethnic groups or countries. Meanwhile, skyrocketing dowry demands have negatively and alarmingly affected female youth. They are routinely viewed as property that can generate family wealth.
The field research also revealed that excess demand on government jobs, widespread reports of nepotism in government hiring practices, cultural restrictions against many kinds of work, and a general lack of entrepreneurial vision are fueling an exceptionally challenging youth employment situation. There also are potent new postwar identities involving youth returning from Khartoum, refugee asylum countries, and those who never left South Sudan, are stimulating hostility and conflict. Gang activities, in addition, continue to thrive in some urban centers in South Sudan. They are reportedly dominated by youth with connections to government officials and by orphans. Finally and significantly, while most undereducated youth highlighted dowry and marriage as their primary concerns, members of the elite youth minority emphasized vocational training and scholarships for higher education.
The U.S Institute of Peace Special Report, "Dowry and Division: Youth and State Building in South Sudan," found that most South Sudanese youth are undereducated and underemployed, and their priorities and perspectives are largely unknown. To address this critical knowledge gap, the authors conducted field research between April and May 2011 with youth, adults, and government and nongovernment officials in Juba and two South Sudanese states. The increasing inability of male youth to meet rising dowry (bride price) demands was the main research finding. Unable to meet these demands, many male youth enlist in militias, join cattle raids, or seek wives from different ethnic groups or countries. Meanwhile, skyrocketing dowry demands have negatively and alarmingly affected female youth. They are routinely viewed as property that can generate family wealth.
The field research also revealed that excess demand on government jobs, widespread reports of nepotism in government hiring practices, cultural restrictions against many kinds of work, and a general lack of entrepreneurial vision are fueling an exceptionally challenging youth employment situation. There also are potent new postwar identities involving youth returning from Khartoum, refugee asylum countries, and those who never left South Sudan, are stimulating hostility and conflict. Gang activities, in addition, continue to thrive in some urban centers in South Sudan. They are reportedly dominated by youth with connections to government officials and by orphans. Finally and significantly, while most undereducated youth highlighted dowry and marriage as their primary concerns, members of the elite youth minority emphasized vocational training and scholarships for higher education.
Research Interests: African Studies, Gender Studies, Anthropology, International Relations, Political Economy, and 14 moreEducation, Peace and Conflict Studies, Youth Studies, Human Rights, Qualitative methodology, Conflict, Political Science, Africa, Gender, Qualitative Research, Conflict Resolution, Sudan, Youth, and South Sudan
Marc Sommers’ interest in Africa’s youth dates back more than three decades to his work in Kenya, where he was headmaster of a girls’ secondary school. In the ensuing years, he has returned to Africa routinely as a scholar and analyst,... more
Marc Sommers’ interest in Africa’s youth dates back more than three decades to his work in Kenya, where he was headmaster of a girls’ secondary school. In the ensuing years, he has returned to Africa routinely as a scholar and analyst, and his growing body of research suggests that the prevailing wisdom about the continent’s youth is misguided and calls for significant reform. As a visiting researcher with the African Studies Center at the Frederick S. Pardee
School of Global Studies, Sommers has written about postwar youth in Rwanda and South Sudan, among many other nations.
His new book, The Outcast Majority: War, Development, and Youth in Africa (University of Georgia Press), invites policymakers, practitioners, academics, students, and others to revise their thinking about war, development, and youth. The book concludes with a framework for reforming international development practice and policy.
With 200 million people age 15 to 24, Africa has the youngest population in the world. The current trend indicates that this figure will double by 2045, according to the 2012 African Economic Outlook report prepared by experts from the African Development Bank, the UN Development Program, and the UN Economic Commission for Africa, among others. A new study by the UN children’s agency UNICEF concludes that at current rates, by 2100 almost half the children under 18 in the world will be African. Already, according to the World Bank, youth account for 60 percent of all African unemployed. And Sommers points out that African joblessness disproportionately affects young women, who, even if they have skills, have more difficulty getting jobs compared with young men.
School of Global Studies, Sommers has written about postwar youth in Rwanda and South Sudan, among many other nations.
His new book, The Outcast Majority: War, Development, and Youth in Africa (University of Georgia Press), invites policymakers, practitioners, academics, students, and others to revise their thinking about war, development, and youth. The book concludes with a framework for reforming international development practice and policy.
With 200 million people age 15 to 24, Africa has the youngest population in the world. The current trend indicates that this figure will double by 2045, according to the 2012 African Economic Outlook report prepared by experts from the African Development Bank, the UN Development Program, and the UN Economic Commission for Africa, among others. A new study by the UN children’s agency UNICEF concludes that at current rates, by 2100 almost half the children under 18 in the world will be African. Already, according to the World Bank, youth account for 60 percent of all African unemployed. And Sommers points out that African joblessness disproportionately affects young women, who, even if they have skills, have more difficulty getting jobs compared with young men.
Research Interests: African Studies, Gender Studies, Anthropology, International Relations, Education, and 15 moreDevelopment Studies, Social Sciences, Youth Studies, Human Rights, Qualitative methodology, Social and Cultural Anthropology, Political Science, Africa, West Africa, Gender, East Africa, Evaluation, Qualitative Research, Central Africa, and Youth
Almost an entire generation of Rwandans is confronting the prospect that they are going to be failed adults, said Marc Sommers, a fellow with Woodrow Wilson Center's Africa Program and visiting researcher at Boston University's African... more
Almost an entire generation of Rwandans is confronting the prospect that they are going to be failed adults, said Marc Sommers, a fellow with Woodrow Wilson Center's Africa Program and visiting researcher at Boston University's African Studies Center.
Sommers explains in this interview how, almost two decades after garnering attention for the international failure to intervene in one of modern history's greatest human tragedies, the Great Lakes state is the site of two competing narratives: Rwanda as a model of success, in classical development terms, and Rwandan government policies as controlling and constraining its young people.
Sommers launched "Stuck: Rwandan Youth and the Struggle for Adulthood," on these and other challenges facing Rwandan youth, in February at the Woodrow Wilson Center. Published on Mar 28, 2012.
Sommers explains in this interview how, almost two decades after garnering attention for the international failure to intervene in one of modern history's greatest human tragedies, the Great Lakes state is the site of two competing narratives: Rwanda as a model of success, in classical development terms, and Rwandan government policies as controlling and constraining its young people.
Sommers launched "Stuck: Rwandan Youth and the Struggle for Adulthood," on these and other challenges facing Rwandan youth, in February at the Woodrow Wilson Center. Published on Mar 28, 2012.
Research Interests: African Studies, Gender Studies, Anthropology, International Relations, Education, and 19 moreDevelopment Studies, Peace and Conflict Studies, Social Sciences, Youth Studies, International Development, Human Rights, Qualitative methodology, Social and Cultural Anthropology, Conflict, Genocide Studies, Political Science, Sustainable Development, Africa, Gender, Evaluation, Qualitative Research, Conflict Resolution, Rwanda, and Youth
An interview with Dr. Sommers focusing on youth and education in fragile states. The themes of sexual violence, increasing urban migration, education systems, and masculinity are addressed.
Research Interests: African Studies, Gender Studies, Anthropology, International Relations, Education, and 16 moreDevelopment Studies, Social Sciences, Youth Studies, Human Rights, Qualitative methodology, Political Science, Sustainable Development, Africa, Migration, Gender and Sexuality, Gender, Masculinity, Evaluation, Qualitative Research, Migration Studies, and Youth
In this episode of the Peace Frequency we continue our series focused on the #YouthPeaceEquality 60 Days of Engagement. Our guest is Marc Sommers, who is an internationally recognized youth, conflict, development, gender, and education... more
In this episode of the Peace Frequency we continue our series focused on the #YouthPeaceEquality 60 Days of Engagement. Our guest is Marc Sommers, who is an internationally recognized youth, conflict, development, gender, and education expert, an experienced evaluator, and an award-winning author. He has conducted research, assessments and evaluations, and provided technical advice, in 21 war-affected countries (15 in Africa) since 1990. His most recent book is entitled, The Outcast Majority: War, Development, and Youth in Africa.