Youth’s Mesopolitical Agency: A Valuable Lens for Peace Research and Praxis

Authors

  • Anas N. Almassri PhD Graduand, Faculty of Social Sciences, Durham University, UK. https://orcid.org/0009-0006-5868-083X
  • Marissa Bell Former Governance Researcher, International Rescue Committee, USA‎‎
  • Edmore Mahlupeka Governance and Rights Coordinator, International Rescue Committee, South Sudan
  • Katja Starc Card Former Governance Researcher, International Rescue Committee, USA https://orcid.org/0009-0000-6346-314X
  • Camilla Bober ERD & Program Development Officer, International Rescue Committee, USA

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.65826/IJPCR.1.1.2026.4

Keywords:

Intercommunal Conflict; Mesopolitical Agency; Peace Praxis; Project Interventions; Youth

Abstract

This brief article introduces a new empirical assessment of the concept of mesopolitical agency to ‎examine youth engagement in peace and conflict in South Sudan. Mesopolitical agency refers to an ‎active role of managing power across multiple spheres of life. Drawing on data from a people-to-‎people peacebuilding project, the assessment focuses on the analytic power of mesopolitical agency to ‎‎(i) explore youth engagement in peace and conflict in the Unity State and, in so doing, to (ii) ‎contribute to advancing peace research and praxis. The assessment was conducted using governance ‎diaries, interviews, focus groups, and documentary data from multiple stakeholders. The findings ‎demonstrate, inter alia, that youth actively engage with local systems of power through conflict and ‎emerging roles in modest peace initiatives. The findings illustrate youth’s exercise of mesopolitical ‎agency, where the substance and extent of their participation or disaffection can significantly shape ‎and be shaped by the dynamics of peace and conflict. Overall, this article notes challenges to ‎essentialist perspectives on youth as subjects of inherent, static, or unidimensional determinable ‎positionalities vis-à-vis peace and conflict. Finally, there are concrete implications for research and ‎practice that may achieve a stronger understanding and optimization of youth’s potential role in peace.‎

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Published

2026-01-15

How to Cite

Almassri, A., Bell, M., Mahlupeka, E., Starc Card, K., & Bober, C. (2026). Youth’s Mesopolitical Agency: A Valuable Lens for Peace Research and Praxis. International Journal of Peace and Conflict Research (IJPCR), 1(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.65826/IJPCR.1.1.2026.4

Issue

Vol. 1 No. 1 (2026)

Section

Articles

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Copyright (c) 2026 Anas N. Almassri, Marissa Bell, Edmore Mahlupeka, Katja Starc Card, Camilla Bober

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