Youth Participation in South Sudan's Civil Wars: The Perception of Victimhood

Year 2024, Volume: 3 Issue: 1, 49 - 66, 30.06.2024

Foday Justice Jalloh

Abstract

Scholars have often focused on the negative involvement of young people in violent conflicts in the African continent, subsequently denying them the attention they need during post-conflict peacebuilding processes. In South Sudan, this study challenges the negative portrayal of young people who participated in the country’s civil wars, arguing that they were victims of their political and economic circumstances. Using primary and secondary data, the author interviewed youth leaders leading various civil society youth organisations promoting the country’s peacebuilding process and used academic papers, websites, newspaper articles, and reports of credible local and international organizations. The paper concludes that while indeed young people participated in South Sudan’s pre and post-independent conflicts, they were mere victims of their political and economic predicaments. Thus, instead of entirely viewing young people’s role in the conflicts from the ‘perpetrator angle,’ we should focus on examining it from the ‘perception of victimhood.’ This lays the foundation for their full inclusion in the post-conflict peacebuilding processes such as disarmament, demobilization and reintegration.

Keywords

Youth, Conflict, Peacebuilding, Africa, Victims, Political and Economic Circumstances

Güney Sudan'daki İç Savaşlara Gençlerin Katılımı: Mağduriyet Algısı

Abstract

Akademisyenler sıklıkla Afrika kıtasındaki şiddetli çatışmalara gençlerin olumsuz katılımına odaklanmış ve bunun sonucunda çatışma sonrası barışın inşası süreçlerini ihmal etmişlerdir. Bu çalışma, Güney Sudan'da ülkenin iç savaşlarına katılan gençlerin siyasi ve ekonomik koşulların kurbanı olduklarını savunarak olumsuz tasvirlere meydan okumaktadır. Birincil ve ikincil verileri kullanan yazar, ülkenin barış inşası sürecini destekleyen çeşitli sivil toplum gençlik örgütleri liderleriyle görüşmüş ve akademik makaleler, web siteleri, gazete makaleleri ve güvenilir yerel ve uluslararası kuruluşların raporlarını kullanmıştır. Çalışma, gençlerin Güney Sudan'ın bağımsızlık öncesi ve sonrası çatışmalarına katılmış olsalar da siyasi ve ekonomik çıkmazların kurbanları oldukları sonucuna varmaktadır. Dolayısıyla, gençlerin çatışmalardaki rolünü tamamen 'fail' açısından görmek yerine, 'mağduriyet algısı' açısından incelemeye odaklanmalıyız. Bu gençlerin silahsızlanma, terhis ve yeniden entegrasyon gibi çatışma sonrası barışın inşası süreçlerine tam olarak dahil edilmelerinin temelini oluşturur.

Keywords

Gençlik, Çatışma, Barış İnşası, Afrika, Siyasal-Ekonomik Koşullar

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