Section outline
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Fieldwork in the Western Balkans and the MENA region found a number of vulnerability and resilience factors in addressing the needs of ‘youth’. First, is the issue of the tendency to either discuss ‘youth’ as a gender-neutral category which results in the prioritization of male needs, or to discuss ‘women and children’ as a single category which results in the infantilization of women. Second, youth (particularly young men) are being pathologized and seen as a risk and a threat by security services. This is because of the ways in which radicalization theories and understanding of extremism and terrorism have been absorbed into mainstream thinking. Third, in both regions the problem of high unemployment for youth, with some unemployment rates exceeding 40% on average in the country, makes young people more susceptible to extremist influences. School dropout rates and illiteracy are also contributing to youth’s lack of employment.
Another major issue found was the limited opportunities for youth to engage and involve themselves so that they may become and feel as if they are constructive members of the community, including lack of extracurricular activities. Given the near-total absence of public initiatives to provide young people with spaces for cultural exchange and artistic expression that can promote resilience in the field sites, it is up to individuals and civil society who are aware of this void to take on this task. As a result, individual citizens have taken initiatives to create space for youth to involve themselves, including through sports and cultural activities. One example is the cultural center in El Kef, Tunisia which was established by a private citizen, and which includes a library and internet access and is an important space for youth to engage in constructive activities. In addition to this, the association Joussour Al-Mouâtana (Bridges for Citizenship) does important work by engaging young people through debates and round tables that help shape their critical thinking. In North Macedonia, the presence of educational institutions, such as the “State University of Tetovo” and the Southeast European University (SEEU) are seen as key factors of resilience of the community against radicalization compared to the municipality of Kumanovo, which largely shares the socio-economic conditions with Tetovo, but has been more vulnerable to radicalization. However, besides being factors of resilience, the role of NGOs that receive foreign funding from state actors and private organizations in promoting radicalization has been noted for the Balkans and MENA region. In Kosovo in 2015, the government closed down dozens of non-government organizations suspected as agents of radicalization.
There are also challenges when engaging youth in international spaces. The ‘rotation’ of a select core of young people into and out of international conferences and workshops that represent a particular elite or class of young people but are disconnected from the lived realities of their peers, also adds to the socio-economic disparities among youth. Of note however, is that this is a criticism similarly leveled at women’s organizations and gender advocates to discredit them, and therefore other practitioners and policy makers were skeptical of the significance of this feature of youth organizations and young people in PVE.
In the online space, there are increasing levels of radicalization efforts targeting youth. In Kosovo, prior to going to Syria, the majority of youth developed their radical ties through social media, not traditional media. Facebook has been identified as a main source of access to radicalized content due to its ability to host a range of interactive online tools, including video content, messaging, closed community group creation and networking.
For more research into the assumed roles played by social media in violent radicalization processes, especially as they affect youth and women, check out: UNESCO. “Youth and Violent Extremism on Social Media.” 2017. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000260532?posInSet=16&queryId=44dae318-5218-4059-9732-4a0f7f2bfcde.
Finally, the COVID-19 pandemic was noted to have negatively exacerbated P/CVE efforts for engaging youth, with increased levels of online violence and recruitment, the closing of schools and universities, and the increase of unemployment for youth.
