Young Soldiers: Why They Choose to Fight

Brett is with the Quaker United Nations Office in Geneva; Specht is with the International Labour Organization. Based on interviews with 53 young soldiers and ex-soldiers from nine countries around the world who identify themselves as having "volunteered" for national armies, paramilitaries, rebel groups, or other armed groups, the authors bring together the under-18s' own views about why they are combatants. The text considers factors contributing to their joining up, including socioeconomic environment, vulnerable personal circumstances and triggers, and how these diverse factors interact; gender dimensions of the problem; how "voluntary" their participation really is; and recommendations for policy makers and workers in the field. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR