The Case for the Empowerment of Youth in Post-Conflict Societies

Essay from the year 2017 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Topic: Peace and Conflict Studies, Security, grade: 1,0, Charles University in Prague (Political Science), course: Justice and Reconciliation in Post-Conflict Societies, language: English, abstract: Within this essay, I will answer the question as to why it is important to empower youth in post-conflict societies. In order to do so, I will first engage in the theoretical framework, for example the definitions of youth and peacebuilding. After that, I will make the case in favor of the empowerment of youth by looking at 1) the very nature and characteristics of the social category that is youth and 2) the practical considerations that speak for empowering youth. In order to illustrate my argument, I will then point out why it is important to focus on youth in the exemplary case of post-conflict Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). Lastly, in the concluding remarks, I will consider what implications the findings might or should have for the future of youth in post-conflict societies. On the 9th of December 2015, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) unanimously adopted a resolution. With that, the UNSC did not only acknowledge the potential of young people as active and positive contributors to peace and stability; it also tried to open up more possibilities in order to further empower youth to take part in the political processes within their respective countries. While so far young people have often been marginalized in post-conflict settings and their potential to contribute to the creating or maintaining of peace has mostly been overlooked, Resolution 2550 sets a new focus and thus seems to mark a shift in the perception of youth. Youth¿s potential in becoming active and positive agents of building peace remains untapped if they are marginalized both in the academic and political context. Thus, the main aim of this essay is to show why it is of crucial importance to change the perception of youth in post-conflict societies and empower them to make a difference.