The paradox of youth engagement: the role of young people in historical and contemporary Southeast Asian peace

Young people have been at the forefront of independence and peace movements across Southeast Asia. However, little scholarship has focused on their significant role and contribution to the region’s past and contemporary peace. They are often overlooked as political actors and agents of peace leading to their exclusion in consultations, decision-making and overall work in building and sustaining peace. In paying attention to and connecting historic events and contemporary context, a ‘paradox of youth engagement’ emerges. That is, the intriguing incongruity of institutional representatives who were once youth activists themselves who then grapple with the complexities of their past activism and the current limited spaces for youth engagement in institutional processes. Drawing on interviews with representatives from institutional regional peace and security mechanisms who were previously youth leaders in Southeast Asia we argue that understanding regional peace and security can be enhanced through attending to the overlooked role of youth and shifting relationships between youth and institutions. A recognition of the roles of young people historically can reveal their complexities and contradictions, highlighting the nuances of young people shifting positions within power hierarchies and systems. Such an analysis provides a deeper insight into ongoing struggles and the nature of institutionalisation of peace and security in the region.