The Importance Of Youth Restiveness And Armed Conflict In Africa

5935 Words12 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The main causes of ethnic conflicts in Africa

This paper critically examines the place of youth restiveness and armed conflict and its impact on education and future of a state. This paper argues that armed conflict children and youths are brutalized and forcefully recruited to serve armed factions. Armed conflict traumatizes children, leaving deep and lasting scars that remain for longer than the violence. Addressing the youth restiveness and armed conflict has become one of the most important fundamentals of any governments both ’in developed, developing, and in third world country ravaged by conflict and crisis on a daily. The paper sets out to examine the causes of armed conflict and youth restiveness on education in Africa. It argues that the escalating rate of internal conflict or …show more content…

Some conditions that increase the probability of war include the inability of Governments to provide basic good governance and protection for their own populations (Aduloju 2014). In many instances, weak Governments have little capacity to stop the eruption and spread of violence that better organized and more legitimate Governments could have prevented or contained. Armed conflicts can also be seen as the struggle for power by a section of the elite that has been excluded from the exercise of power in authoritarian systems of one-party rule. Countries afflicted by war typically also suffer sharp inequalities among social groups. It is this, rather than poverty, that seems to be a critical factor, although poor countries have been far more likely to be involved in armed conflicts than rich ones. Whether based on ethnicity, religion, national identity or economic class, inequality tends to be reflected in unequal access to political power that too often forecloses paths to peaceful change (Nwachukwhu 2015). Economic decline and mismanagement are also associated with violent conflicts, not least because the politics of a shrinking economy are inherently prone to conflicts as compared to those of economic growth. In some instances, the impact of radical market-oriented economic reforms and structural adjustment imposed without compensating social policies has been seen to undermine political

Show More
Related

  • Sierra Leone and the Blood Diamonds: Civil War and Children

    524 Words  | 2 Pages

    Think about how your life was when you were ten. For most people, the only worries were whether you finished your homework and if you’ve been recently updated for new games. Unfortunately, in Sierra Leone, kids at the age of ten were worried about if that day was the only day they’d be able to breathe. The cause of one of this devastating outcome is Sierra Leone’s Civil War. This war was a long bloody fight that took many lives and hopes of children and families.

    Read More

  • Historical Globalization Analysis

    647 Words  | 2 Pages

    Nothing good ever comes out of violence.Two wrongs never make it right, but cause harm. Contemporary society has not responded enough legacies of historical globalization. This essay will cover the following arguments such as residential schools, slavery and the Sierra Leone civil war.

    Read More

  • Globalization Increases Child Soldiery

    2629 Words  | 6 Pages

    Since the end of the Cold War, the recruitment of child soldiers has been recognized as an increasingly global phenomenon. Although the majority of the relatively recent child soldier recruitment cases have developed from armed conflicts in Africa, by the beginning of the new millennium the trend increased globally, appearing on nearly every continent, including Asia, Europe and the Americas. The prevalence of this practice has turned it into a much talked about international issue. The aim of this paper is to look at how this issue is influenced and even aggravated by globalization. More specifically, it will be argued that globalization, expressed through the existence of international organizations, such as the United Nations, have been ineffective in putting a stop to child soldiery and that globalization, defined by the interconnectedness of world economies has lead to underdevelopment and therefore exasperated conflict and as a result child soldiery.

    Read More

  • Impact of War and Violence on Children in A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah

    1473 Words  | 3 Pages

    As Garbarino recognizes, the effects of war and such violence is something that sticks with a child and remains constant in their everyday lives. The experiences that children face involving war in their communities and countries are traumatic and long lasting. It not only alters their childhood perspectives, but it also changes their reactions to violence over time. Sadly, children are beginning to play more of a major role in wars in both the...

    Read More

  • Non-State Political Violence: Occurrence and Justifications

    1814 Words  | 4 Pages

    Political violence is action taken to achieve political goals that may include armed revolution, civil strife, terrorism, war or other such activities that could result in injury, loss of property or loss of life. Political violence often occurs as a result of groups or individuals believing that the current political systems or anti-democratic leadership, often being dictatorial in nature, will not respond to their political ambitions or demands, nor accept their political objectives or recognize their grievances. Formally organized groups, Non-Government Organizations (NGOs), businesses and collectives of individual citizens are non-state actors, that being that they are not locally, nationally or internationally recognized legitimate civilian or military authorities. The Cotonou Agreement of 2000 defines non-state actors as being those parties belonging to the private sector, economic and social partners and civil society in all its forms according to national characteristics. Historical observation shows that nation states with political institutions that are not capable of, or that are resistant to recognizing and addressing societies issues and grievances are more likely to see political violence manifest as a result of disparity amongst the population. This essay will examine why non-state political violence occurs including root and trigger causes by looking at the motivations that inspire groups and individuals to resort to non-conforming behaviors that manifest as occurrences of non-state political violence. Using terrorism and Islamic militancy on the one side, and human rights and basic freedoms on the other as examples, it will look at these two primary kinds of political violence that are most prevalent in the world ...

    Read More

  • Youth and Gun Violence

    1067 Words  | 3 Pages

    Imagine being able to get your hands on a gun in your community with ease when you were younger. Sounds cool right? Well, to some it might and that’s how young children are living in our communities now-a-days. Kids are able to get guns as long as they have parents with guns or the money to buy one. There aren’t enough restrictions on guns & who can get a hold of them on the streets and parents aren’t doing a well enough job of hiding their guns from their children. Something needs to be done. Too many children and young adults are being injured and murdered by something that is supposed to protect them. The ease in which youths are able to possess guns needs to be stopped. The harder it is for kids to get guns, the safer they’ll be.

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On The Mexican American War

    2541 Words  | 6 Pages

    Some americans say that nations hinge on each other, while others say they also compete with one another. This gives rise to rivalry, which sometimes leads to war. Some wars emerge from differentiation in race, religion and culture. Due to the evolution of technology in an accelerated pace, highly sophisticated weapons are now available for use in wars. Wars also bring about widespread destruction, disrupt communication and hamper commerce. Thus, they cause heavy financial loss and great suffering to people. The effects of wars often affect countries that are not involved in the conflict. The threat of war can pressure a nation to waste immense amounts of money on defense instead of spending on developmental works like creating roads, hospitals, schools, and much more. War can halt a countries development. Some countries try to achieve political desires by using terrorism as a weapon against other countries. Terrorism spreads fear in civilians through acts of violence like killings and hostages. This intimidation has transformed into worldwide threat.

    Read More

  • Social Reproduction in Society

    1000 Words  | 2 Pages

    Wells, Karen C.. "Children and youth at war." Childhood in a global perspective. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press, 2009. 152. Print.

    Read More

  • Child Soldiers: Kill or Be Killed

    1798 Words  | 4 Pages

    “This is how wars are fought now: by children, traumatized, hopped-up on drugs, and wielding AK-47s” (Beah). Innocent, vulnerable, and intimidated. These words describe the more than 300,000 children in nations throughout the world coerced into combat. As young as age seven, boys and girls deemed child soldiers participate in armed conflict, risking their lives and killing more innocent others. While many individuals recollect their childhood playing games and running freely, these children will remember “playing” with guns and running for their lives. Many children today spend time playing video games like Modern Warfare, but for some children, it is not a game, it is reality. Although slavery was abolished nearly 150 years ago, the act of forcing a child into a military position is considered slavery and is a continuously growing trend even today despite legal documents prohibiting the use of children under the age of 18 in armed conflict. Being a child soldier does not merely consist of first hand fighting but also work as spies, messengers, and sex slaves which explains why nearly 30 percent of all child soldiers are girls. While the use and exploitation of these young boys and girls often goes unnoticed by most of the world, for those who have and are currently experiencing life as a child soldier, such slavery has had and will continue to have damaging effects on them both psychologically and physically.

    Read More

  • Child Soldiers In The Civil War Essay

    782 Words  | 2 Pages

    The civil war of Sierra Leone lasted from 1991 to 2002. In this civil war approximately fifteen thousand kids were forced to become soldiers. Either by being kidnapped or by having their lives threatened. The situation was an extremely sad one. They had no choice weather they wanted to be soldiers or not. Like Ishmael said in A Long Way Gone, “It was either kill or be killed.” This situation is one where most people would not even be able to imagine themselves in. Ishmael Beah was a boy who suffered, because of the civil war. His family was killed and he was forced to become a soldier for the military. He eventually was rescued by UNICEF and eventually moved to the United States. For a decade, there has been a war between Mexican drug cartels and the Mexican government. There have been an unacceptable number of kids that have been used as soldiers in this war. Approximately, thirty thousand youngsters have been forced into becoming soldiers. In contrast to Sierra Leone, the soldiers here are only for the drug cartels, but in Sierra Leone even the government made the children become soldiers too. Just like the children of Sierra Leone, the children of Mexico are also kidnapped or threatened into becoming soldiers. Once captured, they are transformed into belligerent

    Read More

  • Child Soldiers in Africa

    803 Words  | 2 Pages

    Child soldier is a worldwide issue, but it became most critical in the Africa. Child soldiers are any children under the age of 18 who are recruited by some rebel groups and used as fighters, cooks, messengers, human shields and suicide bombers, some of them even under the aged 10 when they are forced to serve. Physically vulnerable and easily intimidated, children typically make obedient soldiers. Most of them are abducted or recruited by force, and often compelled to follow orders under threat of death. As society breaks down during conflict, leaving children no access to school, driving them from their homes, or separating them from family members, many children feel that rebel groups become their best chance for survival. Others seek escape from poverty or join military forces to avenge family members who have been killed by the war. Sometimes they even forced to commit atrocities against their own family (britjob p 4 ). The horrible and tragic fate of many unfortunate children is set on path of war murders and suffering, more nations should help to prevent these tragedies and to help stop the suffering of these poor, unfortunate an innocent children.

    Read More

  • Child Soldiers

    2240 Words  | 5 Pages

    “Compelled to become instruments of war, to kill and be killed, child soldiers are forced to give violent expression to the hatreds of adults” (“Child Soldiers” 1). This quotation by Olara Otunnu explains that children are forced into becoming weapons of war. Children under 18 years old are being recruited into the army because of poverty issues, multiple economic problems, and the qualities of children, however, many organizations are trying to implement ways to stop the human rights violation.

    Read More

  • Child Soldiers In A Long Way Gone By Ishmael Beah

    1105 Words  | 3 Pages

    Capturing children and turning them into child soldiers is an increasing epidemic in Sierra Leone. Ishmael Beah, author of the memoir A Long Way Gone, speaks of his time as a child soldier. Beah was born in Sierra Leone and at only thirteen years old he was captured by the national army and turned into a “vicious soldier.” (Beah, Bio Ref Bank) During the time of Beah’s childhood, a civil war had erupted between a rebel group known as the Revolutionary United Front and the corrupt Sierra Leone government. It was during this time when the recruitment of child soldiers began in the war. Ishmael Beah recalls that when he was only twelve years old his parents and two brothers were killed by the rebel group and he fled his village. While he and his friends were on a journey for a period of months, Beah was captured by the Sierra Leonean Army. The army brainwashed him, as well as other children, with “various drugs that included amphetamines, marijuana, and brown brown.” (Beah, Bio Ref Bank) The child soldiers were taught to fight viciously and the effects of the drugs forced them to carry out kill orders. Beah was released from the army after three years of fighting and dozens of murders. Ishmael Beah’s memoir of his time as a child soldier expresses the deep struggle between his survival and any gleam of hope for the future.

    Read More

  • Causes of War: Systemic vs. Domestic

    1789 Words  | 4 Pages

    Almost every state on Earth desires peace, so why do countries go to war so often? Between World War I and World War II alone, there were an estimated 81 million casualties (Primary Megadeaths). Each state has different values and desires and many are willing to do whatever it takes to ensure those values remain in their state as well as spread to others. War results in a failure of states to successfully bargain with one another. The most common reason for wars to occur is territorial control. Of the 155 wars in the past three centuries, 83 of them dealt with territory (Holsti). Adding more territory will often add more wealth to the state. One way it can do that is by providing goods, resources, or industries that a state needs, such as oil or minerals. Iran and Iraq fought a war from 1980-1988 partially because Iraq sought to take control of Iran’s southern oil fields, according to World Politics. Military strategy can also play a role in why states seek new territories. Finally, states can be interested in territory for ethnic, cultural, or historical reasons. A prime ex...

    Read More

  • Is War A Universal Phenomenon Of War Essay

    1002 Words  | 3 Pages

    War is a mean to achieve a political goal.it is merely the continuation of policy in a violent form. “War is not merely an act of policy, but a true political instrument....” Moreover, the intensity of war will vary with the nature of political motives. This relationship makes war a rational act rather than a primitive and instinctive action, where war uses coercion to achieve political goals instead of use it only for destruction, and it cannot be separated from each other even after the war has started, when each side is allowed to execute its requisite responsibilities while remaining flexible enough to adapt to emerging

    Read More

More about The Importance Of Youth Restiveness And Armed Conflict In Africa

Open Document