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Young people have been at the forefront of political conflict in many parts of the world, even when it has turned violent. In some of those situations, for a variety of reasons, including coercion, poverty, or the seductive nature of violence, children become killers before they are able to grasp the fundamentals of morality. It has been only in the past ten years that this component of warfare has captured the attention of the world. Images of boys carrying guns and ammunition are now commonplace as they flash across television screens and appear on the front pages of newspapers. Less often, but equally disturbingly, stories of girls pressed into the service of militias surface in the media.A major concern today is how to reverse the damage done to the thousands of children who have become not only victims but also agents of wartime atrocities. In Child Soldiers in Africa, Alcinda Honwana draws on her firsthand experience with children of Angola and Mozambique, as well as her study of the phenomenon for the United Nations and the Social Science Research Council, to shed light on how children are recruited, what they encounter, and how they come to terms with what they have done. Honwana looks at the role of local communities in healing and rebuilding the lives of these children. She also examines the efforts undertaken by international organizations to support these wartime casualties and enlightens the reader on the obstacles faced by such organizations.

The uprising in Tunisia has come to be seen as the first true revolution of the twenty-first century, one that kick-started the series of upheavals across the region now known as the Arab Spring. In this remarkable work, Alcinda Honwana goes beyond superficial accounts of what occurred to explore the defining role of the country's youth, and in particular the cyber activist. Drawing on fresh testimony from those who shaped events, the book describes in detail the experiences of young activists through the 29 days of the revolution and the challenges they encountered after the fall of the regime and the dismantling of the ruling party. Now, as old and newly established political forces are moving into the political void created by Ben Ali's departure, tensions between the older and younger generations are sharpening. An essential account of an event that has inspired the world, and its potential repercussions for the Middle East, Africa and beyond.

The majority of young people in Africa are today living in “waithood,” a prolonged, difficult, and dynamic transition into adult life. This experience is shared with an increasing number of young people in the developed North who are also grappling with issues of joblessness and political exclusion. This waithood generation is increasingly losing faith in the ability of its leaders to address young people’s needs and expectations, and it is rebelling against the status quo. From the youth uprisings that led to the Arab Spring and the ousting of Abdoulaye Wade in Senegal and Campaore in Burkina Faso, to political protest movements such as Occupy Wall Street and Black Lives Matter in the U.S. and Los Indignados in Spain, young people have been at the forefront of political change. However, they have not yet been able to effect systemic change. While profound social transformation takes time, this generation is still wrestling with how to move beyond street protest and have a lasting impact on politics and governance. La majorité des jeunes en Afrique vivent aujourd’hui dans une situation d’attente, que j’appelle waithood, une transition prolongée, difficile et dynamique vers la vie adulte. Cette expérience est partagée avec un nombre croissant de jeunes du Nord développé qui sont également aux prises avec les mêmes problèmes de chômage et d’exclusion politique. Cette génération perd de plus en plus confiance dans la capacité de ses dirigeants à répondre à leurs attentes et leurs besoins et elle se rebelle contre le statu quo. Des soulèvements de jeunes qui ont conduit au printemps arabe et l’éviction d’Abdoulaye Wade au Sénégal et de Campaore au Burkina Faso à des mouvements de protestation politique tels que Occupy Wall Street et Black Lives Matter aux États-Unis, et Los Indignados en Espagne, des jeunes ont été à l’avant-garde du changement politique. Cependant, ils n’ont pas été en mesure d’effectuer un changement systémique. Alors que la profonde transformation sociale prend du temps, cette génération est encore en train de se débattre sur la façon de dépasser la protestation de la rue et d’avoir un impact sur la politique et la gouvernance. A maioria dos jovens em África vive hoje em “waithood”, uma transição prolongada, difícil e dinâmica para a vida adulta. Esta experiência dos jovens Africanos é compartilhada com um número crescente de jovens no Norte Global que também enfrentam as mesmas questões de desemprego e exclusão política e social. Esta geração waithood perdeu fé na capacidade de seus líderes de atender às suas necessidades e aspirações e vem-se rebelando contra o status quo. Desde as revoltas de jovens que levaram à Primavera Árabe, à expulsão de Abdoulaye Wade no Senegal e de Compaoré em Burkina Faso, e aos movimentos de protesto político, como Occupy Wall Street e Black Lives Matter nos EUA, e Los Indignados na Espanha, os jovens tem estado na vanguarda da mudança política. No entanto, estes esforços não lhes permitiram efetuar mudanças sistêmicas. Enquanto as transformações sociais levam tempo, esta geração continua lutando e procurando formas de superar of os protestos de rua e ter um impacto na vida política e na governação.

Alcinda Honwana, a scholar of international development, has just completed a book on the use of child soldiers in conflicts around the world. Her work focuses on Mozambique and Angola and points to aspects of neoliberalism and structural adjustment programs that have disrupted the abilities of families and communities to introduce children to and train them in the responsibilities of young adulthood. Societies with large numbers of children drawn into militias have the usual terrible post-conflict problems, but, in addition, have to reintegrate into useful life a potentially nihilistic generation of young people whose de facto rites of passage have been nothing short of diabolical.-M.S.

This book contains the papers of the first ten holders of the 'Prince Claus Chair' in 'development and equity', presented at a conference in November 2012, and three prize-winning essays written by Master's students at Dutch universities on the same theme.