Youth, Political Violence and Community Security: A Critical Analysis of Youth-led Violence and its Effects on Social Cohesion in Nepal

Abstract

<p>Youth-led political violence is a central idea in this research. I envisioned to study the implications of youth-led political violence in Nepal with emphasis on better understanding the effects it has had and continues to have on social relations and community security in post-war Nepal. Particular areas such as youth motivation and mobilisation, interactions between and among ethnic groups and perceptions of individual security were recognised as causes for concern when I commenced investigations. This research begins with a question, “What effects do youth participation in political violence have on social relations, and subsequently community security in Nepal, which is in the process of transitioning from a culture of armed conflict and civil war towards democratic accord?”. A qualitative-interpretive research methodology underpins this research with methods such as Key Informant Interviews (KII) and Focus Group Discussions (FGD) being utilised to collect primary data from 4 out of 7 provinces in the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal. Participants were selected by commissioning purposive and snowball sampling techniques. The data was gathered in two phases.</p> <p>Push and pull factors that have inspired youth to engage in violent politics were identified. Some of these were: caste-based prejudice, poverty, shrinking livelihood opportunities, geographical insularity, disparity in resource distribution, partisan politics and indoctrination, identity-based political polarisation, state atrocities, peer pressure, the urge for revenge, family political legacy, and a dividend-seeking political culture. Political parties have picked these grievances/issues of the people to mobilise youth into bringing democracy at first and subsequently in efforts towards attaining equity for all ethnic groups. In Nepal, deep-rooted Patron-Client politics accelerated the process by which youth are engaged and mobilised into participating in political violence. Political violence is currently fuelling conflict between ethnic groups in Nepal because the issues that are related to ethnic discrimination have been politicised and personalised. Conflicting relations between ethnic groups is severely impacting community security. Youths’ sacrifices in their efforts to bring democracy to Nepal are well recognised. However, their involvement in an emerging profit-making industry and criminal behaviour in post-war Nepal was observed to be on the rise. Youths engage in nefarious activities on a large scale because their political masters willingly protect them. Hence, these inclinations of the youth of today are due to prevailing ethical and political corruptions among political actors, which describes an exact characteristic of kleptocracy in the Republic Nepal. I conclude that these altered behaviours among youth in relation to youthled political violence in Nepal are subject to change with respect to the shifting political context.</p>