Youth and Sustainable Peacebuilding - by Helen Berents & Catherine Bolten & Siobhan McEvoy-Levy (Hardcover)

About the Book

A critical analysis of how peacebuilding can become sustainable through transforming thinking about what youth participation and leadership entails.

Book Synopsis

A CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title 2025

Sustainable peace involves more than simply including youth in official peacebuilding mechanisms or recognizing their local peacebuilding work; it requires a transformation in thinking about the youth as actors in the world of security and peace. Using case studies from around the globe, the contributors to this volume analyse why states are afraid of their young people, why 'youth participation' in formal peace processes matters but is insufficient, and ways that young people are working outside of official systems to create and nurture peace on their own terms. The volume offers guidance for ways to bridge the disconnect that exists between institutional assumptions and expectations for youth as peacebuilders and the actual sustainable peace leadership of youth. Throughout, it emphasises a critical approach to peacebuilding with, for and by youth.

From the Back Cover

'In focusing on youth-centered activism and approaches to peace, this volume challenges - and potentially contributes to changing - what 'experts' and policymakers believe they know about peacebuilding.'
Graeme Simpson, Principal Representative (NY) & Senior Peacebuilding Adviser, Interpeace

'The aspirations and lived experiences of young people are at the heart of this book. Rich in detail, the compelling and fresh interpretations unmask both tensions and possibilities of the YPS agenda.'
Bina D'Costa, Professor of International Relations, Australian National University

'A must-read for researchers and practitioners [...] with excellent contributions on a myriad of critical issues, processes, and cases.'
Alpaslan Özerdem, Dean of the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, and Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies, George Mason University
Sustainable peace involves more than including youth in official peacebuilding mechanisms or recognizing their local peacebuilding work; it requires a transformation in thinking about the youth as actors in the world of security and peace. Using case studies from around the globe, the contributors to this volume analyse why states are afraid of their young people, why 'youth participation' in formal peace processes matters but is insufficient, and how youth are working outside of official systems to create and nurture peace on their own terms. The volume offers guidance for ways to bridge the disconnect that exists between institutional assumptions and expectations for youth as peacebuilders and the actual sustainable peace leadership of youth. Throughout, it emphasises a critical approach to peacebuilding with, for, and by youth.

Review Quotes

CHOICE Highly Recommended: Advanced Undergraduates through faculty; professionals.
'The study of conflict and its resolution inevitably must contend with, if not focus on, the multifaceted roles of youth as disenchanted activists, rebels, combatants, victims, peacemakers, or other lesser-known categories of agency. Fortunately, the editors and contributors to this volume have served up a remarkably comprehensive overview and critical assessment of this ubiquitous and vexing problem. [...] The editors call on scholars and practitioners to rethink their conceptualizations and operations to better align with the nuances, complexities, and possibilities for youth to participate constructively and meaningfully in sustainable peace building. They conclude with nine recommendations to achieve these goals. Recommended for academic and practicing professionals in the war/peace space and for university libraries and collections supporting international affairs programs. An outstanding contribution to the literature.'
J. P. Smaldone, Georgetown University

'With the participation of the youth in contemporary peacebuilding processes, we face two main challenges. First, young people are often seen as a problem or potential agent of conflict, and second, even if their potential as an agent of peace is recognized, the basis of their participation is often tokenism at best. This is why Youth and sustainable peacebuilding is a must-read for researchers and practitioners, as this volume tackles both challenges head-on with excellent contributions on a myriad of critical issues, processes, and cases.'
Alpaslan Özerdem, Dean of the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, and Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies, George Mason University

'How do young people participate in both formal security spaces and in informal processes? What do we learn from perspectives that pay attention to people's views? To what extent are the complexities of the Youth Peace and Security (YPS) agenda are captured by official institutions and community practices? In this exciting and inspiring volume, these questions are addressed in creative and thoughtful ways.
The aspirations and lived experiences of young people are at the heart of this book. Rich in detail, the compelling and fresh interpretations unmask both tensions and possibilities of the YPS agenda. Contributors reveal underlying injustices, oppression, and co-optation of young lives. We learn how inherently securitised, environmental, and economic stresses marginalise young people.
The empirical evidence persuasively tells us that collective sharing of knowledge and a radical vision of youth participation and inclusion are prerequisites in the transformative practices of peace.
A must-read for academics and practitioners of youth, sustainable peace, and justice.'
Bina D'Costa, Professor of International Relations, Australian National University

'In focusing on youth-centered activism and approaches to peace, this volume challenges - and potentially contributes to changing - what 'experts' and policymakers believe they know about peacebuilding.
This agenda-setting volume offers a rich contribution to the Youth and Peace and Security (YPS) agenda - at the intersection of policy, practice, and scholarship, as well as in the ways that local YPS practice can sophisticate and define global policy.'
Graeme Simpson, Principal Representative (NY) & Senior Peacebuilding Adviser, Interpeace. Former Lead Author of the Independent UN Progress Study on YPS: The Missing Peace

About the Author

Helen Berents is Senior Lecturer and Australian Research Council DECRA Fellow with the School of Government and International Relations at Griffith University. Catherine Bolten is Professor of Anthropology and Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame. Siobhan McEvoy-Levy is Professor of Political Science and Peace Studies and Director of the Desmond Tutu Peace Lab at Butler University.