Seminary Report: Re-conceptualizing Child Soldiering

On 18 April 2018, we had the opportunity to discuss with Professor Karl Hanson (University of Geneva) his work on the re-conceptualization of child soldiering. His talk highlighted the gap between empirical reality and normative aspirations enshrined in the formal regulation of child soldiering, which led to a lively discussion on agency and childhood. In …

Reconceptualizing Child Soldiering

International law and policies regarding children and armed conflict have largely been informed by humanitarian perspectives that are built on the presumption of children’s victimhood and their incapacity to voluntarily taking part in military life or violent political struggles. Such a protectionist view forecloses that at times of social, economic and political instability children and …