University of Notre Dame Press Troublemakers or Peacemakers?: Youth and Post-Accord Peace Building (RIREC Project on Post-Accord Peacebuilding)

Many contemporary armed conflicts are fueled by young people, who, after peace accords are signed, remain both potential threats to peace and significant peace building resources. ""Troublemakers or Peacemakers?"" explores the contributions of youth and their multidimensional roles as political activists, soldiers, criminals, economic actors, peace activists, and community-builders. This volume breaks new ground in the importance it assigns to the political agency of children and youth in war zones. Contributors support their arguments and conclusions with original research based on intensive fieldwork in places such as Sierra Leone, Rwanda, Guatemala, Colombia, Angola, Northern Ireland, Bosnia, and Israel-Palestine. The leading scholars who have contributed to this volume contend that the puzzle of why peace accords succeed and fail can be better understood with the use of a multidimensional ""youth lens."" ""Troublemakers or Peacemakers?"" is a vital resource for anyone interested in conflict resolution and the peace building process. Review This is an excellent compendium of research on largely micro-efforts at peace building aimed at youth, set in the context of country conflicts that remained violent and unjust after the conclusion of peace accords. The articles provide the context of conflicts in Guatemala, Colombia, Rwanda, Angola, Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Palestine, and Israel. A few provocative thematic essays summarize the state of the literature on peace building, introducing the book's important and under-studied focus on youth, and arguing that youth can make or break sustainable peace efforts.--Political Science Quarterly About the Author SIOBHAN McEVOY-LEVY is assistant professor of political science at Butler University.