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Title Young protesters' ambivalence about violence in the 2015 crisis in Burundi: local legacies of conflict and generational change
Date 2023
Author(s) Berckmoes, L.H.; Anonymous
Abstract April 2015, Burundi. What started as peaceful demonstrations against another term of president Nkurunziza, quickly turned into violent confrontations between mostly young male civilians and government forces. The demonstrations signalled the beginning of a new political crisis after a decade of peace. In this paper, we draw on eye-witness accounts of civilians to understand the escalation of violence. We argue that legacies of conflict informed the understanding and escalation of the violence. For instance, memories and skills learned by adults and older peers during the civil war were passed on to novices to organise protests and neighbourhood defence. Yet the legacies of conflict also juxtaposed with protesters' ideals on 'civil' non-violent political dialogue. The ambivalence towards violence experienced and narrated by protesters and witnesses points to intergenerational change, but may also be understood as contradictions in how political dialogue and competition is generally envisioned in Burundi. - ASC ' Publicaties niet-programma gebonden
Subject(s) Burundi; Youth; Civil Wars; Violence; Generation; Mass Demonstrations
Language en
Type of publication Article / Letter to editor; info:eu-repo/semantics/article; Text
Format application/pdf
Source Peacebuilding
Identifier doi:10.1080/21647259.2023.2234735; lucris-id:1265315069
Repository Leiden - University of Leiden
Added to C-A: 2023-09-04;09:20:08