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ABSTRACTThis article argues that access to clientelistic networks is central to the ability of youth to engage in violent activities in Nigeria's oil-rich Delta. Even though the literature has demonstrated that the contradictions of oil wealth and economic neglect provide the backdrop for conflict in the region, the actual channels through which it becomes possible to activate incentives for violence have not been properly addressed. It also points out that a fixation on the narrative of resistance has undermined our ability to engage with other critical variables such as social codes of masculinity, survival and 'becoming' which play very central roles in animating violent networks in the region. Drawing evidence from interview data, the article uses the lived experiences of 'ex-militants' to highlight these points as well as to raise questions about the applications of neopatrimonial theory to governance projects in African states.

This paper interrogates the role of women in peace talks in Africa. It addresses the exclusion of women and their peculiar interests from deliberations aimed at constructing a post conflict state framework that resolves the contradictions that incite violent conflict and provides safeguards against recurrence. The paper argues that the failure of peace talks to deliberately incorporate women interests detracts from their potential to effectively confront the questions of post conflict rebuilding. It notes the increasing inclusion of women but argues that this does not amount to gender representation. This is because at the heart of the inclusion is the requirement of female participants to represent non-gendered interests of class, ethnicity, religion as the case may be. In the light of this, it is contended that to the extent that their claim to power derives from their social navigation of the structures of power through relationships with men, their representation can only reinforce the very basis of women's subordinate status. Going further, the paper challenges the argument for feminizing peace talks in Africa. It considers this as reverse chauvinism and calls instead for incorporation. In concluding, it is contended that peace talks need to be democratized and female representation placed within the broader context of social challenges. This approach will prevent the undue reification of gender - read women - interests with the consequence of heightening the "sex wars" in ways that does not add value to democratic incorporation.

This paper invests the role of environmental social movements and NGOs in the struggle for democracy in Nigeria. In particular, it examines how environmental issues, specifically in the oil-rich Niger Delta, have come to symbolise the Niger Delta communities' craving for greater inclusion in the political process. The paper argues that because of linkages to the nature of economic production, environmental crises have been particularly useful in driving the democracy discourse in Nigeria. By linking environmental crisis to democratisation and the interactions of power within the Nigerian federation, NGOs and social movements have been able to gain support for environmental causes. This may, however, have dire implications for the environmental movement in Nigeria. Because ownership, not necessarily sustainability, is the central theme of such discourse on resource extraction, social movements may not be framing the environmental discourse in a way that highlights its unique relevance. The paper concludes by making a case for alternative methods of framing the environmental discourse in a developing-world context like that of Nigeria.

This paper investigates the role of environmental social movements and NGOs in the struggle for democracy in Nigeria. In particular, it examines how environmental issues, specifically in the oil-rich Niger Delta, have come to symbolise the Niger Delta communities' craving for greater inclusion in the political process. The paper argues that because of linkages to the nature of economic production, environmental crises have been particularly useful in driving the democracy discourse in Nigeria. By linking environmental crisis to democratisation and the interactions of power within the Nigerian federation, NGOs and social movements have been able to gain support for environmental causes. This may, however, have dire implications for the environmental movement in Nigeria. Because ownership, not necessarily sustainability, is the central theme of such discourse on resource extraction, social movements may not be framing the environmental discourse in a way that highlights its unique relevance. The paper concludes by making a case for alternative methods of framing the environmental discourse in a developing-world context like that of Nigeria. Adapted from the source document.

"Dieser Beitrag untersucht die Bedeutung umweltpolitischer Bewegungen und Nichtregierungsorganisationen (NRO) für den Kampf um Demokratie in Nigeria. Insbesondere widmet er sich der Frage, inwiefern Umweltthemen, speziell im ölreichen Nigerdelta, inzwischen das große Bedürfnis der Bevölkerung reflektieren, stärker in den politischen Prozess einbezogen zu werden. Umweltkrisen haben den demokratischen Diskurs in Nigeria ganz besonders vorangebracht, weil sie zu den Grundlagen der ökonomischen Produktion in Beziehung stehen. Indem soziale Bewegungen und NRO die Umweltkrisen mit dem Demokratiedefizit und den Machtstrukturen innerhalb Nigerias in Beziehung setzten, fanden sie auch Unterstützung in Umweltfragen. Dies könnte allerdings negative Folgen für die nigerianische Umweltbewegung haben. Denn das zentrale Thema eines sozialen Diskurses zum Abbau von Ressourcen ist die Eigentumsfrage und nicht notwendigerweise die Nachhaltigkeit; wird der Diskurs von sozialen Bewegungen bestimmt, wird die einzigartige umweltpolitische Relevanz möglicherweise nicht ausreichend herausgestellt. Der Autor plädiert für eine alternative Themensetzung im umweltpolitischen Diskurs in Entwicklungsländern wie Nigeria." (Autorenreferat)

Chapter 1. Introduction: A theory of youth and (non) violence -- Chapter 2. Staying away from arms? The non-violent trajectories of youth in times of conflict in the Central African Republic -- Chapter 3. Ambiguous Agency and Strategies of Non-violence: Youth and 'Everyday Peace' in the city of Jos, Nigeria -- Chapter 4. Young people resisting violence in northeast Nigeria -- Chapter 5. 'Good boys, gone bad': Navigating Youth Mobilisation and Gender in Post-Conflict Sierra Leone -- Chapter 6. The Qeerroo movement in Ethiopia -- Chapter 7. Youth and non-violent resistance: #ThisFlag Movement in Zimbabwe -- Chapter 8. Ushahidi's Nonviolent Technological Impact in the Kenya's 2008 Post- Election Violence.