Does Youth Resentment Matter in Understanding the Surge of Extremist Violence in Burkina Faso?

Alexandra Tapsoba, Jean-Louis Combes and Pascale Combes Motel ()
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Alexandra Tapsoba: ISSP - Institut Supérieur des Sciences de la Population - UJZK - Université Joseph Ki-Zerbo de Ouagadougou = University of Ouagadougou, LEO - Laboratoire d'Économie d'Orleans [2022-...] - UO - Université d'Orléans - UT - Université de Tours - UCA - Université Clermont Auvergne
Pascale Combes Motel: LEO - Laboratoire d'Économie d'Orleans [2022-...] - UO - Université d'Orléans - UT - Université de Tours - UCA - Université Clermont Auvergne, UCA - Université Clermont Auvergne
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Pascale Motel Combes ()

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Abstract: Abstract The year 2019 marked an unprecedented step in violence in Burkina Faso. Before 2018, attacks targeted central government officials and expatriates. In 2019, the victims of sexual assaults, attacks, abductions or forced disappearances and assassinations were mostly local civilians. The surge in these violent attacks against civilians generates population movements. As of 2023, internally displaced people represent about 10% of the total population in the country. Several observers point to the youth of the attackers. This study investigates the motives that could drive young people to resort to violence in the country. It aims to highlight youth resentment's effect on violence against civilians in the country as of 2019. It takes advantage of one of the latest nationwide United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)-sponsored surveys conducted in Burkina Faso before some parts of the country became inaccessible because of attacks. Among other information, this survey collected data on youth resentment towards the ability of their kinship to fulfil their needs in 2018, namely before the shift in violence against civilians. We merge this survey into an original dataset that gathers data from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), mining data from the MINEX project and distance data computed using Burkina Faso's roads information. The results of an event count model show that youth resentment matters in understanding the occurrence of conflicts. Moreover, the presence of mining companies, the remoteness of infrastructures, ethnic diversity and polarisation also significantly affect violence against civilians.

Keywords: conflicts; youth resentment; relative deprivation; Burkina Faso (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024-01-22
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-afr and nep-ure
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Published in Journal of African Economies, 2024, ⟨10.1093/jae/ejad023⟩

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Journal Article: Does Youth Resentment Matter in Understanding the Surge of Extremist Violence in Burkina Faso? (2024)
Working Paper: Does youth resentment matter in understanding the surge of extremist violence in Burkina Faso? (2023)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04416513

DOI: 10.1093/jae/ejad023

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