Youth inclusion in peace processes: the case of the Bangsamoro transition authority in Mindanao, Philippines

Abstract

Drawing on the post-accord case of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) in the region of Muslim Mindanao, this research examines how far youth’s vertical integration in formal political institutions is influenced by both structural association and youth’s agential capacity. While association with the formal structural elements enables elite youth’s entry into the formal space, the latter’s agential capacity shapes the nature of that inclusion over the long-term. Positive intergenerational collaboration and interdependence between Moro elders and the Moro youth supports this process, although inclusion remains limited to only a minority of the youthful population. New empirical data collected through primary research with the elders and young Moro ministers in the BTA is used to demonstrate the workings of our argument around the importance of intergenerational collaboration and support from the elders, for a wider inclusion of young people’s skills and voices into post-conflict governance institutions.