Youth-Led Social Movements and Peacebuilding in Africa

This book critically examines and analyses the active role played by youth-led social movements in pushing for change and promoting peacebuilding in Africa, and their long-term impacts on society. Africa's history is characterised by youth movements. The continent's youth populations played pivotal roles in the campaign against colonialism and, ever since independence, Africa's youth have been at the center of social mobilisation. Most recently, social media has contributed significantly to a further rise in youth-led social movements. However, the impact of youth voices is often marginalised by patriarchal and gerontocratic approaches to governance, denying them the place, voice, and recognition that they deserve. Drawing on empirical evidence from across the continent, this book analyses the drivers and long-term impacts of youth-led social movements on politics in African societies, especially in the area of peacebuilding. The book draws attention to the innovative ways in which young people continue to seek to re-engineer social space and challenge contexts that deny them their voice, place, recognition and identity. This book will be of interest to researchers across the fields of social movement studies, youth studies, peace and conflict studies, history, political sciences, social justice, and African studies. The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license

Ibrahim Bangura is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Peace and Conflict Studies, Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone, Freetown, Sierra Leone, and Director of Transition International Sierra Leone.

1. Introduction: Youth and the Quest for Change in Africa, Ibrahim Bangura 2. Youth Movements and Activism - Theoretical Approaches, Frank Ubachs 3. Regional and Sub-Regional Approaches to Youth and Youth-Led Movements in Africa: An Examination of the Policies of the African Union and its Regional Economic Communities, Mohamed Gibril Sesay 4. Going Virtual: Social Media and Youth-Led Social Movements in Africa, Edmore Chitukutuku 5. Digital Activism, Transnational Support, and the EndSARS Movement in Nigeria, Festus Kofi Aubyn and Osei Baffour Frimpong 6. Making Change Happen: Music and Youth-Led Social Movements in Senegal, Philip Bob Jusu and Saatchi Sen 7. The Heroes of Burkina Faso's 2014 Revolution and the Mirage of Hope, Anna Naa Adochoo Mensah 8. Confronting a Brutal Present: Guinean Youth and the Struggle against Constitutional Breach, Ibrahim Bangura 9. Leading the Change: Women, Youth, and the 2019 Revolution in Sudan, Mohamed Gibril Sesay, Mohamed Bakhit and Justin Crowell 10. Youth Activism in Uganda: Causes and Methods, Rita Makumbi 11. Navigating Precarious Spaces: Youth, Social Movements and Political Activism in Zimbabwe, Simbarashe Gukurume 12. Confronting Legacies of Apartheid: The #RhodesMustFall and #FeesMustFall Movements in South Africa, Simbarashe Gukurume and Godfrey Maringira 13. Youths and the Anglophone Crisis in Cameroon: A Reflection on the Sociology of Social Movements in a Complex State, Delmas Tsafack 14. Embracing Change: Young People and Social Movements in Post-Arab Spring Tunisia, Ibrahim Bangura and Saatchi Sen 15. Moving from Contentious to Collaborative Relationships: Youth-Led Social Movements, Good Governance and the Prospects for Peace in Africa, Ibrahim Bangura