United States Institute of Peace • www.usip.org • Tel. 202.457.1700 • Fax. 202.429.6063

UNITED STATES INSTITUTE OF PEACE

© USIP 2012 • All rights reserved.

“[I]t is important that 

youth throughout Afghanistan 

believe in the legitimacy of 

the next wave of elected 

officials, or there is a real 

threat that the current disillusionment becomes political 

apathy and disinterest—or 

worse, violent opposition 

against state institutions.”

September 11, 2012

Providing Space for Positive Youth 

Engagement

Summary

•	 Afghanistan’s youth bulge, estimated at 21 million people under 25 years old, are a potential

catalyst forshifting the current political and conflict dynamicsin Afghanistan. Donor governmentsseeking positive change in Afghanistan can approach those under the age of 30 asthe

most likely source ofsuch change.

•	 International financing and political capital may be strategically focused to develop youth as a

positive political, economic and social force. It isimportant that the international community

concentrate development funding over the next 10 years on youth-oriented programming—

particularly asit relatesto education, enterprise and agricultural development, and civic

engagement.

•	 Young Afghan advocates need support from the international community to ensure that they

have the requisite space and skillsto meaningfully participate in future electoral processes

and in local and national peace negotiations or reintegration programs.

Background 

Nearly 70 percent of Afghanistan’s estimated 30.5 million people are under the age of 25—

making it one of the youngest populations on Earth.1 The lives of Afghan youth have been

defined by protracted periods of local, national or regional conflict. Despite the injection of billions

of dollarsin foreign assistance since 2001, youth throughout Afghanistan continue to express

deep frustration and resentment at the pace and scale of their participation. The majority of the

nation’s young generation has been prevented from accessing many of the economic windfalls of

the last 10 years, with disproportionate levels of the wartime economy ending up in the hands of

a small circle of elite actors with little commitment to local reinvestment2—and often with tiesto

past atrocities and violence.3 Similarly, traditional values and practices have deprived many youth

from the access and opportunity to participate in decision-making processes at almost every level

of Afghan society. Further frustrating youth effortsto play positive rolesin communitiesisthe

popular perception that youth are the foot-soldiers of the nation’sinsurgencies. Assuch, there is an

urgent need to provide support for Afghanistan’s youth to act as positive change agentsfor peace

and improved governance.

By supporting youth-oriented policies and programsthat are culturally relevant and focused

on Afghanistan’slong-term peace, programs may benefit from tapping into the creative potential

of Afghan youth. The generationalshiftsin attitudes and behaviors needed to prevent continued

Tim Luccaro

E-mail: tluccaro@usip.org

PEACEBRIEF133
© USIP 2012 • All rights reserved.

Providing Space for Positive Youth Engagement

page 2 • PB 133 • September 11, 2012

cycles of violence in Afghanistan are most likely to be effective if they are rooted in the foundation

of the nation’s current youth population. Youth associated with USIP projects have said that they

desire more technical tools and interpersonalskillsrequired to prevent the continued violence

in the country, giving them the capacity to substantively engage in democratic processes and

nurture the rule of law.4 Such skills will also allow them to confront—through legal means—the

entrenched political and cultural intereststhat have historically devalued the public participation

of youth. Anecdotal evidence suggeststhat many young Afghans continue to be frustrated by

political representation that does not adequately work to addressthe most pressing issuesfor the

majority of the country, and in which all actors, including high-ranking government officials, are

not held equally accountable under existing Afghan law.5

Professional nongovernmental organizations attract the attention of most international largesse

and often overshadow the nascent civilsociety of youth advocates and volunteers who are actively

working toward an alternative path for positive change in the country. Rather than funneling their

frustrationsthrough armed opposition groups or allowing themselvesto be co-opted by what

they feel are corrupt and profit-oriented NGOs, youth in various parts of the country are finding

innovative means of advocacy and community engagement. From volunteer education campaignsto online advocacy, from marching in the streetsto protest for women’srights or against

perceived abuses of Afghan religiousfaith, youth are learning to mobilize and bring voice to their

frustrations.6

The pending drawdown of international military and civilian aid will have deep impacts on the

Afghan economy, particularly urban youth who are most likely to be negatively affected by any

economic contraction.7 Over the last 11 years, the aid economy has provided many youth with

accessto moderate economic resourcesthrough jobs and auxiliary services. With the looming

financial impact on the population the international community hasthe opportunity to ensure

adequate space and opportunitiesfor youth to channel their energy into positive outlets and

limit inducementsfor joining any armed opposition groups or criminal networks.8 The Tokyo

Conference took a good firststep in acknowledging the importance of job creation and targeted

initiativestoward youth. The single reference, however, did not clearly articulate how the Afghan

government or donors were going to ensure requisite money and resources would be focused on

supporting Afghanistan’s most likely source of positive change—its youth.9

Youth Legal Education

Young men and women complain that a lack of understanding of due process and basic legal

protections against illegal government actionsleavesthem feeling vulnerable and susceptible to

abuse by state actors. Similarly, youth are limited in their ability to engage in traditional, non-state

forumsfor dispute resolution because of cultural restrictions, and they have voiced a desire to shift

those forumsso that they are more reflective of youth’s changing social values and more representative of the legal protections offered through statutory and Islamic law.

In 2012, USIP began an initiative to support youth volunteers, aiming to build young citizen’s

awareness of their rights and the rights and responsibilities of the state as provided by the Afghan

Constitution. The project hopesthat peer-to-peer education will encourage the population and

government to be equally accountable to the rule of law, and foster greater demandsfor democratic reform and participation from Afghan youth. The program leverages existing networks of

self-financed, volunteer groupsrunning free education campaignsin remote areas of the country.

The volunteer groupsrely on dues-paying membersfor programmatic expenses and provide educationalservicesthat the government and NGOs are currently unable to provide. USIP is helping
© USIP 2012 • All rights reserved.

Providing Space for Positive Youth Engagement

page 3 • PB 133 • September 11, 2012

them create a mobile civic and legal education campaign that builds a foundational knowledge of

individual rights and understandings of due processin Afghanistan.

Working with scholars and legal professionals, USIP and its partners have created a training

curriculum that includessections on the organization and role of the Afghan government, individual

rights, family law, women’srights, criminal law and procedure (including protections against illegal

state actions and due process within an Islamic framework), principles of peace and reconciliation,

and non-violent advocacy. In addition to weekly classes, volunteers meet monthly to share lessons

learned from their work, receive additional legal training, and document relevant legal issuesthey are

encountering in their communities.Over the course of the year-long initiative, the volunteers will also

be trained in creating public media campaignsso that their work can reach an even wider audience.

A simplified promotion of civic awareness and information on citizens’rights can shift the

demand side of justice and governance in Afghanistan. Empowering people with a pragmatic

knowledge of their rights hasthe potential to improve the way that justice is dispensed at a local

level—both by state and non-state actors—and potentially reduce conflicts over perceived or real

abuses of individuals’rights within different justice fora.10 If citizens are aware of their rights, they

can then begin to place pressure on a justice system that is perceived asthe most corruptstate

institution in the nation to provide adequate servicesin line with itslegal mandate.11

USIP programming currently focuses on youth legal awareness, but it has also identified other

key areas where youth need support to realize theirsocial, political and economic potential.

Elections and Political Participation

A united youth front constitutesthe largest potential voter demographic in forthcoming elections—most importantly the 2014 presidential elections. Providing youth the opportunity to

develop a political voice will be critically important in the intervening period before 2014 elections.

Youth have expressed deep frustrations with past elections, becoming increasingly disillusioned

with a democratic processthat they see as complicit in legitimating the dominance of past

warlords and powerbrokers associated with periods of acute violence and chaosin Afghanistan’s

history. The forthcoming elections are a pivotal opportunity to redefine and reinvigorate the

citizen-state relationship in Afghanistan. Upcoming elections will likely determine levels of democratic participation in Afghanistan for the next generation. A flawed processthat is not perceived

by today’s youth asrepresenting or responding to their interests will lead to a generation that risks

being further alienated from the state and the democratic electoral process.

It is critical that Afghan and international leadersrecognize youth as an important voting

constituency and begin targeting programming on civic awareness, voter education and electoral

reformstoward them now—and not in the few months directly preceding elections. Similarly,

it isimportant that youth throughout Afghanistan believe in the legitimacy of the next wave of

elected officials, or there is a real threat that the current disillusionment becomes political apathy

and disinterest—or worse, violent opposition againststate institutions. There isstill time for youth

groups, volunteers, and young political advocatesto become active participantsin the electoral

process, and be given a role in ensuring the transparency and legitimacy of elections. Whether as

elections observers, volunteer electoral educators, polling workers, or members of the Independent Elections Commission—carving outspace for the substantive participation of Afghan youth

in the next round of elections may go a long way to combating youth disenchantment within

democratic processes and foster a generation of nonviolent, political action.

Some politicians and powerbrokers already recognize the value ofsuch youth mobilization

and have used it to support their own objectives, which are not necessarily attuned to that of
© USIP 2012 • All rights reserved.

Providing Space for Positive Youth Engagement

page 4 • PB 133 • September 11, 2012

the majority. Unless opportunities and direction are provided in the immediate future, it is not

unreasonable to believe that the enthusiasm of the youth population may be co-opted by current

elite political brokers or, worse yet, left completely unrecognized.

Youth Peace Process Representation

While some attention has been focused on the need to include the voices of women in the

broader political peace process between the Afghan state, International forces, and anti-government elements; little emphasis has been placed on the necessary role of youth in negotiations,

reconciliation and reintegration. The main composition of the Afghan High Peace Council (HPC)

reflects a gerontocracy that doesn’t reflect the demographic composition of the country. While

employees under 30 play support and administrative roles within the Afghan Peace and Reconciliation Program and the HPC, they are limited in their decision-making and leadership roles. While

some groups have begun to organize and lobby for a voice in the process12, official recognition of

their role and inclusion as active participants hasremained limited.

If a political peace processisto succeed, the community members who are expected to uphold

and respect it must have the requisite buy-in to the process and outcome. In order to do that, it

isincumbent on the HPC and other bodiesinvolved in official peacemaking activitiesto reflect

the demographics of the country and have sufficient representation from the nation’s youth and

female constituencies.

Notes

1.	 As of 2008 UNDP’s National Joint Youth Programme estimated that 68 percent of population is

under the age of 25. The CIA World Factbook estimatesthe total Afghan population to be around

30.5 million people.

2.	 http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/04/world/asia/karzai-family-moves-to-protect-its-privilege.

html?_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20120604;“Afghan Elite Borrowed Freely from

Kabul Bank.”http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/29/world/asia/29kabulbank.html

3.	 http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/23/world/asia/key-afghans-tied-to-mass-killings-in-90scivil-war.html?_r=1&ref=world

4.	 One can see how such opportunities have benefitted women’s participation, in which many

of the most outspoken female members of the Wolesi Jirga who were elected as part of the quota

system are actually below the age of 35, or were at the time of their initial term. 

5.	 Sadly, it is difficult to speak beyond anecdotes, asthe major nationalsurveysthat have been

conducted in Afghanistan do not disaggregate their findings based upon age. In fact, the most

recent Asia Foundation“Voter Behavior Survey”didn’t even ask respondentstheir age in the

demographic section of the questionnaire. Moving forward, quantitative nationalsurveysshould

commit to disaggregating data along age-setsto begin crafting a more nuanced narrative of what

the differentsegments of the Afghan population want and believe.

6.	 “Afghans march in Kabul to demand change for women.”http://www.guardian.co.uk/

world/2012/apr/14/aghans-march-womens-justice-kabul. Afghan Youth Peace Jirga Facebook

page, https://www.facebook.com/aypnjirga.

7.	 2012. World Bank“Transition in Afghanistan: Looking Beyond 2014.” http://siteresources.

worldbank.org/INTAFGHANISTAN/Resources/Vol1Overview8Maypm.pdf
© USIP 2012 • All rights reserved.

USIP provides the analysis, training and 

tools that prevent and end conflicts, 

promotes stability and professionalizes 

the field of peacebuilding.

For media inquiries, contact the office 

of Public Affairs and Communications, 

202.429.4725

2301 Constitution Ave., NW

Washington, D.C. 20037

Providing Space for Positive Youth Engagement

page 5 • PB 133 • September 11, 2012

About This Brief

Tim Luccaro is USIP’s program 

officer in Kabul, Afghanistan where 

he has worked on justice-related 

issues since 2010. The Peace Brief 

discusses USIP’s work with Afghan 

youth volunteers to build greater 

community awareness of civic and 

legal rights. The author highlights 

the need for greater recognition 

of Afghan youth’s role and 

participation in political and peace 

processes in Afghanistan.

8.	 2006. World Bank,“World Development Report 2007: Development and the next generation”.

http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2006/09/13/000112

742_20060913111024/Rendered/PDF/359990WDR0complete.pdf

9.	 2012. Tokyo Declaration. http://www.mofa.go.jp/region/middle_e/afghanistan/tokyo_conference_2012/tokyo_declaration_en1.html

10.	 2011. World Bank,“World Development Report 2011: Conflict, Security, and Development.”

The report demonstratesthe importance of meeting citizens’demandsfor justice in order to

prevent continued cycles of debilitating violence, http://wdr2011.worldbank.org/fulltext/.

11.	 See Asia Foundation, 2011“Survey of the Afghan People.”

12.	 In July 2012, youth organized a national jirga to expresstheir views on the future of transition

and the particular form they wish the peace processto take. July 5, 2012. BBC“Young Afghans gather

for meeting in Kabul to demand peace,”http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-18712329; http://

unama.unmissions.org/Default.aspx?ctl=Details&tabid=1741&mid=1882&ItemID=17222.