Militarized Youth - The Children of the FARC

Based on ethnographic fieldwork and interviews from across Colombia-including former child guerillas, former hostages of the guerilla organization, mothers of child soldiers, and humanitarian aid workers- this volume explores the experiences of children involved with the Colombian guerilla group the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (Farc). Going beyond the predominant humanitarian perspectives on child soldiers, Johanna Higgs delves into the specific social and cultural aspects of the Colombian conflict to give a contextualized, culturally relevant understanding of the processes of both militarization and demobilization of children, deploying the theoretical lens of "lifeworlds." In so doing, Higgs not only provides insight into children's involvement in conflict in Colombia, but presents a clear case for a move away from homogenized understandings of "child soldiers," thus far dominated by viewpoints from industrialized Western nations. Tying together perspectivesfrom anthropology, sociology, psychology, politics, and international development, Higgs provides not only a much-needed examination of how children are militarized, soldiering in the Farc context, and demilitarization, but also a blueprint for how research can be tied to specific cultural contexts.

List of contents

Chapter 1: Introduction: The Children of the Las Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC).-Chapter 2: Children and War: A Global Perspective.-Chapter 3: Entering the Field.-Chapter 4: The Lifeworld.-Chapter 5: The Militarised Lifeworlds of Children in Colombia.-Chapter 6: 'I'm a Soldier.' Life Inside the Armed Group.-Chapter 7: Coming Home: The Unmaking of a Child Soldier.-Chapter 8: Conclusion: Colombia and the Road to Peace.

About the author

Johanna Higgs, Ph.D., is an anthropologist studying childhood, children in conflict, and women’s rights around the world. She is the founder of Project Monma, an organization that which advocates for women’s rights, and she has published numerous articles related to women’s rights worldwide in such venues as Pass Blue, Independent Australia, the Huffington Post and Morocco World News.

Product details

• Authors: Johanna Higgs
• Publisher: Springer, Berlin
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 17.10.2019
• EAN: 9783030236854
• ISBN: 978-3-0-3023685-4
• No. of pages: 233
• Dimensions: 152 mm x 14 mm x 240 mm
• Weight: 334 g
• Illustrations: XI, 233 p. 2 illus., 1 illus. in color.
• Subjects: Social sciences, law, business > Sociology; B, Peace, Sociology, Conflict Studies, Political Science, Social Policy, Ethnology, International Relations, adolescence, Social Sciences, Social & cultural anthropology, childhood, Politics & government, Social Anthropology, Central / national / federal government policies, Sociocultural Anthropology, Childhood, Adolescence and Society, Peace studies & conflict resolution, Age groups & generations, Children, Youth and Family Policy, Latin America—Politics and government, South & Central America (including Mexico), Latin America, Latin American Politics, Popular Social Sciences