The Dynamic Role of Youth in Post-Conflict Reconstruction: Lessons from Mozambique, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Kosovo

This undergraduate thesis uses three post-conflict countries to examine the effects of a large youth population during the post-conflict reconstruction period. The role of youth in post-conflict reconstruction has been largely understudied and there are significant gaps in the understanding of how the post-conflict reconstruction process affects young people, and the role youth play in determining the success of the reconstruction program. The youth in conflict research focuses predominantly on young men, suggesting that a large proportion of male youth will increase the likelihood of instability but does not consider the youth population’s role in building peace. Through a thorough investigation of the impact of different actors’ policies and programs, this study attempts to draw comparisons across cases that experienced varying degrees of success with reconstruction in order to generate hypotheses that may guide future research regarding the role of youth in post-conflict reconstruction and the ability of reconstruction actors to facilitate the youth population’s war-to-peace transition.