The ethics of child-soldiering in the Congo

Kasper Hoffmann*

*Corresponding author for this work
5 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

In cutting-edge conflict theory, 'young men' are framed as a potential source of violence and insecurity in underdeveloped countries, especially in the so-called 'failed states'. Supposedly, 'young men' bereft of socio-economic opportunities constitute a dangerous sub-population which can easily be recruited by 'Spoilers', or warlords when the pursuit of personal gain through the use of violence is rational; that is, in situations where the state has failed and therefore has no monopoly over the means of violence. Drawing on fieldwork among the Maï-Maï of South Kivu, I challenge the notion that the young fighters of the Maï-Maï were easily lured into the militias because they lacked other exit strategies. Recruitment actually followed a much more complex pattern. The young Maï-Maï fighters were either forcefully recruited or joined voluntarily for one or more of the following reasons: In order to exact vengeance on the 'enemy', for personal protection; to fight for national liberation; to protect a given community; for the right to enjoy the spoils of modernity; and to recast a disempowered and humiliated self into a vigorous and virile subject. In this article, therefore, I argue that recruitment into a non-state armed group was a question of ethics instead of the machinations of a universal instinct secretly at work.

Original languageEnglish
JournalYoung
Volume18
Issue number3
Pages (from-to)339-358
Number of pages20
ISSN1103-3088
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2010
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Child soldiers
  • Conflict
  • Ethics
  • Maï-Maï
  • Rationality and morality
  • Security
  • Youth

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