PO377 Ethnic Conflict and Political Violence

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PO377 Ethnic Conflict and Political Violence

• Week 12 Seminar Non-Traditional Agents of
  Political Violence

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Main Seminar Questions

• Why do women and/or children become agents of
  political violence? (Think in terms both of why
  militant ethno-national groups employ women and
  children as combatants and what the
  voluntary/involuntary motivations are for women
  and children to participate.)
• What are the consequences (for themselves,
  society and our understanding of traditional
  agents of political violence) of their active
  participation in ethno-national conflicts?

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Introductory Question

• Why is it important to analyse the phenomenon of
  female and child combatants in contemporary
  ethno-national conflict?
• (Spend five minutes discussing this in small
  groups.)

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Some reasons for analysing non-traditional agents
of political violence

• Because of the security threat they pose (e.g.
  Alison 2004 note different types of security)
• to correct the gendered oversight of previous
  research (Fox 2004)
• to overcome the systematic and historical
  omission of non-traditional agents of political
  violence from post-conflict planning and
  development activities (MacKenzie 2009).

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Why are women supposedly more pacific than men?
(see Sharlach 1999)

• Essentialist explanation women are by nature the
  gentler sex NB bear in mind that the nature of
  the link between testosterone and aggression is
  contested by scientists.
• Constructivist explanation if women are indeed
  gentler, it is due to nurture rather than nature.

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Who are child soldiers? (Sierra Leone, below)
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Karen child soldiers in Burma/Myanmar (left, 2000
and right, 2001 all are 12 years old)
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Cambodia (left, 1970s) and unknown (right)
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Who are child soldiers?

• UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989)
  a child/minor is a human being under age of 18.
  Optional Protocol to the Convention, on the
  Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict
  (2000/2002) bans recruitment of minors by
  non-state armed groups and prohibits their
  participation in state and non-state armed
  hostilities. Conscription also banned under 18.
• Paris Principles and Guidelines on Children
  Associated with Armed Forces or Armed Groups
  (2007) a child soldier is any person under the
  age of 18 recruited or used by any armed group
  (state or non-state), in whatever capacity and
  whether or not an armed conflict exists.
• Child soldiers perform a range of tasks including
  participation in combat, laying mines and
  explosives scouting, spying, acting as decoys,
  couriers or guards training, drill or other
  preparations logistics and support functions,
  portering, cooking and domestic labour and
  sexual slavery or other recruitment for sexual
  purposes.
• For possible criticisms of how to define child
  soldiers, see Wessells (1998).

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Push Factors

• Why do women and/or children become agents of
  political violence?
• (Spend ten minutes discussing this in groups then
  share your ideas.)

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Why do women and/or children become agents of
political violence?

• Involuntary motivations, inter alia
• the exercise or threat of physical violence
  against them (see e.g. example of Francois,
  Briggs 2005)
• peer pressure (e.g. Cairns 1987)
• propaganda (e.g. African Rights 1995, Wessels
  1998)
• -gt note that it can be discussed whether the
  latter two are indeed involuntary motivations

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Why do women and/or children become agents of
political violence?

• II. Voluntary motivations, inter alia
• because they believe in the cause (e.g. Alison
  2003)
• because they seek revenge (e.g. ibid.)
• out of socioeconomic necessity and/or the hope
  for material gain (e.g. Wessels 1998)
• -gt note that it can be discussed whether the
  latter two are indeed voluntary motivations or
  how much sense the voluntary/involuntary
  distinction makes in the first place

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Pull Factors

• Why do militant ethno-national groups employ
  female combatants?
• (Spend five minutes discussing this in groups
  then share your ideas.)

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Why do militant ethno-national groups employ
female combatants?

• (See Alison, 2004 and 2009)
• Out of strategic needs, including an
  insufficiency of men
• out of an ideological need to show that these
  groups represent an all-encompassing (and
  therefore legitimate) mass social movement
• out of pressure from the women themselves.

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Pull Factors

• Why do militant groups employ child combatants?
• (Not specific to ethno-national militant groups.
  Spend five minutes discussing this in groups then
  share your ideas.)

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Why do militant groups employ child combatants?

• Out of strategic need, including insufficiency of
  adult fighters
• because they can be easily conscripted
• because they are seen to be more malleable and
  docile (and cheaper) than adults
• out of pressure from children themselves (many
  say they volunteered)
• because they are more expendable (cannon fodder)?
  
• changing patterns of warfare affect childrens
  social roles (as well as womens)
• lighter weapons mean children today can carry
  them.
• (Are there differences when it is a state
  military using children?)

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Final Question

• What are the consequences (for themselves,
  society and our understanding of traditional
  agents of political violence) of their
  (women/children) active participation in
  ethno-national conflicts?
• Open discussion. In particular consider how a
  society might recover from widespread atrocities
  committed by child soldiers. Watch the following
  with caution Free Syria Army make child behead
  unarmed prisoner http//www.youtube.com/watch?v
  kayX9k5lmfs