Governance, Security and Culture: Assessing Africa’s Youth Bulge

Authors

  • Marc Sommers Boston University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4119/ijcv-2874

Abstract

Although Africa has a youth-dominated population, African government policies are often not youth-centered and African governments and their international supporters are frequently under-informed about the priorities of most youth. Reliance on the “youth bulge and instability thesis” leads to distorted assessments of everyday realities. Examination of the lives, priorities, and cultural contexts of African youth, and the cases of youth in Rwanda and Burundi in particular, shows that the nature of relations between the state and massive populations of young, marginalized, and alienated citizens directly impacts the governance, security, and development prospects of African nations.

Author Biography

Marc Sommers, Boston University

Visiting Researcher
African Studies Center
Boston University

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Further information

Published

2011-11-30

How to Cite

Sommers, M. (2011). Governance, Security and Culture: Assessing Africa’s Youth Bulge. International Journal of Conflict and Violence, 5(2), 292–303. https://doi.org/10.4119/ijcv-2874

Issue

Section

Focus: Youth and Violence