The thesis has investigated the use of child soldiers by the actors involved in the decades-long conflict of Somalia. The thesis has reviewed the main academic debates on child soldiering and...Show moreThe thesis has investigated the use of child soldiers by the actors involved in the decades-long conflict of Somalia. The thesis has reviewed the main academic debates on child soldiering and described the theoretical foundations to better comprehend the answer to the research question posed. In the analysis, the different rationales for each side to the conflict to explain their use and recruitment of child soldiers were examined. Finally, the thesis argued that among the several factors that seem to be valid in explaining the phenomenon of child soldiering in Somalia, only two are found to be true for both the extremist organization al-Shabaab and the government, with their allied forces. First, children may voluntarily join the army because they lack alternatives outside of the armed groups. In fact, they cannot receive a proper education and they suffer extreme poverty, water scarcity, malnutrition and devastation. Second, Somali children were born in a constant climate of violence and insecurity that has ‘normalized’ the concept of fighting, leading them to take up arms in a desperate attempt to put an end to a war they do not understand, but that has been lacerating their country for too long.Show less
The purpose of this thesis is to use a new lens through which to analyse terrorist recruitment tactics. This will be done by examining how Al-Shabaab has manipulated the collective memory of the...Show moreThe purpose of this thesis is to use a new lens through which to analyse terrorist recruitment tactics. This will be done by examining how Al-Shabaab has manipulated the collective memory of the Kenyan ‘military intervention’ through their tweets during the Westgate terrorist attack of 2013. In order to answer this question, the tweets will be analysed through the field of memory studies, paying special attention to postmemory, collectivisation of memory, false memory creation and the establishment of imagined communities. This thesis concludes that Al-Shabaab and other terrorist organisations on a more global level are able to acquire recruits through manipulating how memories are represented in social media. By mediating the narrative of the Kenyan intervention in Twitter, Al-Shabaab is able to transmit the memory to a larger audience ensuring the continuity of their struggle against Kenya throughout varying social spheres and different generations.Show less
