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What Kenyan Youth Want and Why It Matters for Peace

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 February 2018

Elisabeth King
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Abstract:

The international aid community presents education and employment programs as the keys to mitigating youth participation in violence. Yet, existing evidence suggests that faith in such programs may be misplaced. This study investigates this disconnect between faith and evidence. It argues that education and employment programs are commonly built on an economically-focused “dominant discourse” that makes presumptions about youth and their interests. Based on qualitative research with youth in Nairobi, Kenya, it further argues that this dominant discourse overlooks self-identity and social connectedness factors that are crucial to youth, as well as the limitations imposed by governance and structural conditions.

Résumé:

Bien que la communauté d’aide humanitaire internationale présente des programmes d’éducation et d’emploi comme la clé pour atténuer la participation des jeunes à la violence, les preuves existantes suggèrent que la foi dans ces programmes peut être déplacée. Basé sur une recherche qualitative menée auprès de jeunes à Nairobi, au Kenya, cet article soutient que les programmes d’éducation et d’emploi reposent généralement sur un discours dominant incluant des hypothèses inexactes ou insuffisantes sur les jeunes et leurs intérêts. Ce discours néglige les facteurs d’identité et de liens sociaux qui sont cruciaux pour les jeunes, ainsi que la gouvernance et les conditions structurelles qui les limitent.

Keywords

Youthconflicteducationemploymentaspirationsopportunity costs
Type
Articles
Information
African Studies Review , Volume 61 , Issue 1 , April 2018 , pp. 134 - 157
Copyright
Copyright © African Studies Association 2018 

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