Voting is not enough: youth and political citizenship in post-war societies

Policy making and governance structures in Zimbabwe: examining their efficacy as a conduit to equitable participation (inclusion) and social justice for rural youths

“…the democratic culture may not be fully developed when they reach the age of majority if it is not inculcated earlier. Kurtenbach and Pawelz (2015), concur and argue that youth participation should go beyond just voting every few years. Due to a myopic focus on voting, at the turn of 18 years of age, young people may have a limited understanding of their democratic duty and presume that casting a ballot is the only method of participation.…”

“…Youth participation not only enhances young people's ability to socialize and share their problems without facing undue criticism but it also promotes democratic ideals by allowing for diverse ideas to emerge (Björnsdóttir & Einarsdóttir, 2017;Camino & Zeldin, 2002). Youth participation goes beyond the scope of mere voting every few years, and is in fact a medium for facilitating voice, agency enhancement of social justice, as well as development (Kurtenbach & Pawelz, 2015). Permitting young people to engage effectively, i.e.…”

‘Building Kachin’: Youth and Everyday Action in one of Myanmar's Ethnic States

“…Since the majority of youth tend to be far removed from policy processes concerned with post‐conflict reconstruction and peace, scholars advocate focusing on ‘everyday’ forms of participation in post‐conflict settings (Azmi et al., ; Berents and McEvoy‐Levy, ; Kurtenbach and Pawelz, ; Oosterom, forthcoming; Podder, ; Schnabel and Tabyshalieva, ). Through a focus on the everyday, they demonstrate that youth can act strategically in conflict‐affected settings, and thus influence local political process and promote peace.…”

“…There is still a weak understanding of how youth living in conflict‐affected settings experience and enact their citizenship (Kurtenbach and Pawelz, ). In terms of formal participation, numerous governments in the global South have established institutions for youth participation such as electoral quotas and National Youth Councils, including in countries affected by conflict.…”

“…An emerging literature on everyday youth activism emphasizes that young people can play an active role in the local politics of their communities (Dawson, ; Jeffrey and Dyson, , ; Turner, ), but few of these studies are situated in conflict‐affected settings (Kurtenbach and Pawelz, ; Schwartz, ). With a case study in Kachin State, Myanmar, this article addresses this gap by analysing how citizenship is ‘lived’ and enacted by youth that have grown up in a conflict‐ridden context.…”