Children and youth are disproportionately affected by violence, insecurity and conflict; and yet are rarely considered actors in their own right. How can we better engage with children and youth, as well as theorise their presence when considering international politics? How can the diverse experiences of youth be accounted for without relying on stereotypes and assumption?
My work centres considerations of children and youth when thinking about conflict and peace. It pays attention to the politics of the everyday and how we can better account for the actions of people often overlooked in discussions of violence and peace. To do this I approach these questions with a feminist curiosity and an explicit attention to the embodied experiences of those made marginal or invisible in the doing of politics, as well as of academia. My work is situated within international relations and peace and conflict studies, but draws on anthropology, sociology and feminist theory theory and methodologies. Alongside my more recent work on global youth leadership for peace and Southeast Asian youth-led peace and security, I have worked in Colombia and Guatemala and have an abiding interest in, and love for, Latin America.
These questions and considerations have evolved into several thematic areas including:
- the participation of young people in responding to peace and violence from the everyday to the international;
- representations of children and youth in conflict and crises;
- and the role of pop culture in thinking about militarism, conflict and the bodies caught up in violence.
These are broad thematic areas that my work develops. Writings & Media includes a full list of academic and non-academic work on these and other topics.
Selected Funded Projects
Developing youth-led indicators for the Youth, Peace and Security agenda (2024-2025)
Lead by Dr Yulia Nesterova (Glasgow). This project investigates how youth peace actors propose to monitor and evaluate its implementation across diverse conflict-affected and post-conflict areas. It works with youth to develop a set of youth-led indicators for the YPS agenda. Funded by a Carnegie Trust Research Incentive grant, 2024-2025.
Intergenerational engagement for the Youth, Peace and Security agenda (2024-2025)
Lead-CI with Dr Yulia Nesterova (Glasgow) and Dr Ingrid Valladares (Griffith). This project undertakes the first academic multi-sited investigation into the role and practices of intergenerational engagement in formalised advocacy for the YPS agenda.
Funded by the Folke Bernadotte Academy (FBA), the Swedish agency for peace, security and development, 2024-2025). For more information, and to meet our Youth Expert Advisory Team for the project, see here.
Youth Advocacy for Inclusive Peace (2020-2021)
This project examined how youth are included or excluded from formal peace processes. The project modelled a youth-led, adult-supported approach to research with the three co-lead youth researchers leading virtual interviews with youth peacebuilders in Afghanistan, South Sudan and Myanmar in 2021.
It was supported by funding from QUT Faculty of Law and QUT Centre for Justice, and in partnership with Search for Common Ground. More information and outputs can be found here.
Youth Leadership and the Future of Peace & Security, ARC DECRA Fellowship. (2020-2024)
My DECRA Fellowship explored the role of youth-led advocacy and leadership in the context of the establishment of an international ‘Youth, Peace and Security agenda’. It examined the role of youth in local, national and international contexts to contribute to more inclusive, durable peace. More information and outputs can be found here.
Youth and Peace in the Indo-Pacific (ASSA Workshop) (2019)
Co-convened by Dr Helen Berents (QUT), Dr Caitlin Mollica (Griffith), and ASSA Fellow and Professor Jacqui True (Monash), the workshop brought together academics, practitioners and policy makers with expertise on gender and youth inclusive peace practices in the region. Funded by the The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia (ASSA) Workshop Grant program. More information here.
Helen Berents 