Imprint and identifiers:
Palgrave Macmillan (2025)
eBook ISBN 978-3-031-95862-5
Series: Rethinking Peace and Conflict Studies
Suggested citation: Leclerc, K., Yague, E. I. B., & Berents, H. (Eds.). (2025). Youth Leading Change: Emerging Sites of Knowledge in Peace and Conflict. Palgrave Macmillan.
Youth Leading Change:
Emerging Sites of Knowledge in Peace and Conflict
Edited by Katrina Leclerc, Erika Isabel Bulan Yague, and Helen Berents
A youth-authored, scholar-practitioner volume in Palgrave’s Rethinking Peace and Conflict Studies series. This book centres young peacebuilders as knowledge producers, bridging practice and research across regions to reshape debates on peace and security.
20% off with promo code: PALAUT
About the book
Marking a decade of the UN’s Youth, Peace and Security agenda, Youth Leading Change brings together youth-authored chapters paired with reflections from established scholar allies. The volume foregrounds lived expertise, interrogates the limits of state-centric security thinking, and offers grounded insights from Latin America and the Caribbean, West and Central Africa, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe. It is written for students, researchers, practitioners, and policymakers seeking practical, context-aware approaches to peace and security.
What you’ll find inside:
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Youth-led analysis that treats practitioners as legitimate knowledge producers;
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Regionally grounded case studies and clear implications for policy and practice; and
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Intergenerational dialogues that connect emerging work with established scholarship.
Stay tuned for details on upcoming launch events!
About the editors
Katrina Leclerc: Saint-Paul University / University of Winnipeg. Scholar-practitioner working at the intersections of Women, Peace and Security (WPS) and Youth, Peace and Security (YPS).
Erika Isabel Bulan Yague: Griffith University. Researcher on youth civic engagement and peacebuilding in Southeast Asia.
Helen Berents: Griffith University. Professor of International Relations; researcher on young people, everyday peace, and security.
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Contents
Young People as Movers and Shakers of Peace and Security
Katrina Leclerc, Erika Isabel Bulan Yague, Helen Berents
Part I: Emerging Trends in Youth and Peacebuilding
Young Women’s Everyday Digital Peacebuilding in the Philippines
Lynrose Jane D. Genon
From Margins to Movements: The Gendered Implementation of the Youth, Peace and Security Agenda in Iran
Shadi Rouhshahbaz
Local Voices, Global Impact: Youth, Peace and Security Discourse Analysis in Northwestern Cameroon
Sally M. Mboumien, Katrina Leclerc
Moldova’s Youth in Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding Processes
Daria Larionov, Valeriu Drăgălin
Reflections on Emerging Trends in Youth and Peacebuilding
Siobhán McEvoy-Levy
Part II: Youth and States: Challenges and Collaboration?
Congolese Youth Navigating Peace and Security, Reducing Community-Level Violence
Marie-Rose Tshite
Youth on the Frontlines in Myanmar: What Role for Youth, Peace and Security?
Shayne Wong
From Victims to Actors: Analysing Youth Participation in Nigeria’s Peace and Security
Efetobor Stephanie Effevottu
Obligation Unfulfilled?: Navigating the Relationships Between Youth, States and the Governance Architecture
Caitlin Mollica
Part III: Regional Perspectives Front
Young People Shaping Southeast Asian Peace
Erika Isabel Bulan Yague, Linh Nong
Generation Peace: Youth-Driven Solutions for Security in Latin America and the Caribbean
Lani Mireya Anaya Jiménez, Khaleem Ali
Progress, Challenges, and Opportunities: Enacting National Action Plans on Youth, Peace and Security in West Africa
Simone Mbodé Diouf
Reflections on Regional Perspectives
Celina Del Felice
Browse the book
Endorsements
“Marking a decade of the Youth, Peace and Security agenda, this ground-breaking volume amplifies the voices of young scholar-practitioners, puts them in conversation with established scholar allies, and offers unique insights from those straddling academic and practitioner spaces. In doing so, it foregrounds lived experiences, challenges traditional hierarchies of knowledge production, and provides essential analysis of youth-led peace-building. This volume will be an indispensable read for anyone seeking to understand the evolving landscape of peace and security through the lens of those directly shaping it.” —Dr. Lesley Pruitt, Associate Professor, School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Melbourne
“Anchored by the outstanding scholarship of Katrina Leclerc, Erika Isabel Bulan Yague, and Helen Berents, Youth Leading Change offers a critical and timely intervention into the Youth, Peace and Security agenda. The volume’s diverse range of regional case studies highlights the depth and breadth of youth-led research and practice in peacebuilding. It sets a new benchmark for research that challenges hierarchies of knowledge production and advances youth-centered approaches within both academic and policy discourse.” —Dr. Bahar Baser, Professor of Political Science and International Relations, School of Government and International Affairs, Durham University
“‘Youth Leading Change’ recognises the authority of young peacebuilders by amplifying their lived experiences and their innovative approaches to conflict transformation. This ground-breaking volume demonstrates how youth-led initiatives in digital activism, community dialogue, and policy advocacy are reshaping peace processes globally. Through rich case studies spanning multiple continents, these scholar-practitioners persistently demonstrate how the experiences and knowledge of youth are indispensable to sustainable peacebuilding.”
—Professor Katrina Lee-Koo, Head of the School of Political Science and International Studies, The University of Queensland
“This volume is a powerful testament to the importance of youth-led knowledge creation in the Youth, Peace and Security space. With young people already at the forefront of driving change, this collection rightly elevates their voices and expertise within academic and policy arenas, ensuring the agenda is informed by those who are shaping its reality.” —João Scarpelini, first-ever UN Youth Advisor in Somalia (2015–2019) and Programme & Technical Specialist, Inclusive Peace and Security & Humanitarian Action at UNFPA
“This powerful volume repositions young peacebuilders not just as participants, but as essential knowledge producers whose lived experiences and academic insights challenge traditional hierarchies in peace and conflict studies. By centering youth voices, this work offers an urgent, compelling reframing of the Youth, Peace and Security agenda and charts a path toward more inclusive and transformative peacebuilding.”
—ErikeTanghöj, Senior Specialist, Inclusive Peace and Security at Folke Bernadotte Academy (FBA)
“This powerful volume challenges the very foundations of peace and conflict studies, urging us to rethink whose voices are heard and whose knowledge is valued. By focusing on the lived experiences of young peacebuilders, this book is a vital contribution for scholars, practitioners, and anyone committed to more inclusive and peaceful societies.” —Sofia Biscuola, Co-Director of the United Network of Young Peacebuilders (UNOY)