This FAO-ODI study provides an evidence-based analysis of the drivers of youth radicalisation in the Sahel and distils what this means for programming which aims to address that concern. Resources have been invested into trying to address the underlying drivers of youth radicalisation, often through programming under the labels of Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) or Prevention of Violent Extremism (PVE). Such approaches tend to categorise ‘at risk’ individuals based on certain socio-economic profiles. In particular, connecting both poverty and unemployment to radicalisation has been a popular assumption among policymakers, based on arguments that poverty and unemployment both generate grievance-based motivations and lower the opportunity cost for engaging in political violence. In response, P/CVE programming often includes the provision of economic alternatives and skills-based training in a bid to dissuade young people from joining armed groups. The findings of this study challenge this framing. Based on a review of over 50 studies on radicalisation in the Sahel and the evidence from P/CVE programming implemented in the region, it has been assessed that the drivers of radicalisation in the region are geographically specific and therefore need to be considered spatially, rather than aiming to produce a ‘typical’ profile of youth that are vulnerable to radicalisation. This report aims not only to uncover how socio-economic conditions interact with political dynamics to produce environments conducive to youth radicalisation, but also to provide recommendations on how regional employment programmes can be tailored so that they contribute towards reducing radicalisation.

The Sahel region is nowadays facing many challenges, including insecurity, rising extremism, lacking of economic prospects and decent employment opportunities, besides also experiencing poor access to education, vocational training and overall basic services. Youth are among the most vulnerable group in the region, and although youth population is expected to grow, if employment and entrepreneurial opportunities for youth remain limited, young people will continue to remain in a vicious cycle of food insecurity and deep poverty. This case study outlines how the project "Building resilience in the Sahel region through job creation for youth", strengthened the capacities of rural youth in their entrance in the agrifood system adopting green practices, while also empowering the national institutions tasked in supporting them. The case study also provides all the lessons learned throughout its implementation as well as details of the project’s evaluation.

Young people are key agents of change, with enormous innovation potential. FAO recognizes that youth are already at the frontline to build more sustainable agrifood systems and are best placed to rejuvenate the sector, acquire the knowledge and skills needed to innovate, uptake new technologies, and spearhead the digital transformation. The Organization provides support to countries to develop more youth-inclusive policies, strategies, investments and programmes, in order to enhance the overall well-being of young women and men. This compendium of good practices brings together snapshots of selected FAO's youth-specific projects, activities and products in support of the Rural Youth Action Plan (RYAP) first biennium of implementation (2021–2022).

"The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic marks the most significant, singular global disruption since World War II, with health, economic, political, and security implications that will ripple for years to come." -Global Trends 2040 (2021) Global Trends 2040-A More Contested World (2021), released by the US National Intelligence Council, is the latest report in its series of reports starting in 1997 about megatrends and the world's future. This report, strongly influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, paints a bleak picture of the future and describes a contested, fragmented and turbulent world. It specifically discusses the four main trends that will shape tomorrow's world: - Demographics-by 2040, 1.4 billion people will be added mostly in Africa and South Asia. - Economics-increased government debt and concentrated economic power will escalate problems for the poor and middleclass. - Climate-a hotter world will increase water, food, and health insecurity. - Technology-the emergence of new technologies could both solve and cause problems for human life. Students of trends, policymakers, entrepreneurs, academics, journalists and anyone eager for a glimpse into the next decades, will find this report, with colored graphs, essential reading.

Young people in the Middle East (15–29 years old) constitute about one-third of the region's population. Growth rates for this age group trail only sub-Saharan Africa. This presents the region with an historic opportunity to build a lasting foundation for prosperity by harnessing the full potential of its young population. Yet young people in the Middle East face severe economic and social exclusion due to substandard education, high unemployment, and poverty. Thus the inclusion of youth is the most critical development challenge facing the Middle East today. A Generation in Waiting portrays the plight of young people, urging greater investment designed to improve the lives of this critical group. It brings together perspectives from the Maghreb to the Levant. Each chapter addresses the complex challenges facing young people in many areas of their lives: access to decent education, opportunities for quality employment, availability of housing and credit, and transitioning to marriage and family formation. This volume presents policy implications and sets an agenda for economic development, creating a more hopeful future for this and future generations in the Middle East. Selected contributors include Ragui Assaad (University of Minnesota), Brahim Boudarbat (University of Montreal), Jad Chaaban (American University in Beirut), Nader Kabbani (Syria Trust for Development), Taher Kanaan (Jordan Center for Public Policy Research and Dialogue), Djavad Salehi-Isfahani (Wolfensohn Center for Development and Virginia Tech), and Edward Sayre (University of Southern Mississippi).

Violent conflicts today are complex and increasingly protracted, involving more nonstate groups and regional and international actors. It is estimated that by 2030—the horizon set by the international community for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals—more than half of the world’s poor will be living in countries affected by high levels of violence. Information and communication technology, population movements, and climate change are also creating shared risks that must be managed at both national and international levels. Pathways for Peace is a joint United Nations†“World Bank Group study that originates from the conviction that the international community’s attention must urgently be refocused on prevention. A scaled-up system for preventive action would save between US$5 billion and US$70 billion per year, which could be reinvested in reducing poverty and improving the well-being of populations. The study aims to improve the way in which domestic development processes interact with security, diplomacy, mediation, and other efforts to prevent conflicts from becoming violent. It stresses the importance of grievances related to exclusion—from access to power, natural resources, security and justice, for example—that are at the root of many violent conflicts today. Based on a review of cases in which prevention has been successful, the study makes recommendations for countries facing emerging risks of violent conflict as well as for the international community. Development policies and programs must be a core part of preventive efforts; when risks are high or building up, inclusive solutions through dialogue, adapted macroeconomic policies, institutional reform, and redistributive policies are required. Inclusion is key, and preventive action needs to adopt a more people-centered approach that includes mainstreaming citizen engagement. Enhancing the participation of women and youth in decision making is fundamental to sustaining peace, as well as long-term policies to address the aspirations of women and young people.

This is the third and final volume resulting from the Jean Monnet Network on Atlantic Studies, a project coordinated by the Fundação Getúlio Vargas and funded by the European Commission, under the Horizon 2020 research program. The project had three main clusters of research: energy, economy and human security. This volume addresses the human security dimension of the study on the Atlantic Basin. This volume, with chapters from specialists in the Jean Monnet Network, sheds new light in all these areas. The first part, "Human Security Threats in the Atlantic Basin," seeks to bring a new understanding on classical concepts and threats to human security. From drug traffic to energy security, from the northern Mediterranean to the connection between fragile states and terrorism, we examine the different realities and answers across the Atlantic and its four continents. However, there are new and intensive challenges to human security that could be left aside, and those are integrated on the second part of the volume. The most poignant are the migratory flows that course through this region, in several dimensions. In the final part of the volume, the authors focus on the possibility of "Forging Human Security Networks" within the Atlantic Basin. The main actors of the region have already developed several tools to deal with the threats and challenges concerning human security. Do they or could they cooperate more and better? Is there an overlapping of the instruments at their disposal or, on the other hand, could they work together in order to maximize their results? These are the questions answered, in different regards, by the chapters in this third part.

The effect of demography on economic performance has been the subject of intense debate in economics for nearly two centuries. In recent years opinion has swung between the Malthusian views of Coale and Hoover, and the cornucopian views of Julian Simon. Unfortunately, until recently, data weretoo weak and analytical models too limited to provide clear insights into the relationship. As a result, economists as a group have not been clear or conclusive.This volume, which is based on a collection of papers that heavily rely on data from the 1980s and 1990s and on new analytical approaches, sheds important new light on demographic--economic relationships, and it provides clearer policy conclusions than any recent work on the subject. In particular,evidence from developing countries throughout the world shows a pattern in recent decades that was not evident earlier: countries with higher rates of population growth have tended to see less economic growth. An analysis of the role of demography in the "Asian economic miracle" strongly suggeststhat changes in age structures resulting from declining fertility create a one-time "demographic gift" or window of opportunity, when the working age population has relatively few dependants, of either young or old age, to support. Countries which recognize and seize on this opportunity can, as theAsian tigers did, realize healthy bursts in economic output. But such results are by no means assured: only for countries with otherwise sound economic policies will the window of opportunity yield such dramatic results. Finally, several of the studies demonstrate the likelihood of a causalrelationship between high fertility and poverty. While the direction of causality is not always clear and very likely is reciprocal (poverty contributes to high fertility and high fertility reinforces poverty), the studies support the view that lower fertility at the country level helps create apath out of poverty for many families.Population Matters represents an important further step in our understanding of the contribution of population change to economic performance. As such, it will be a useful volume for policymakers both in developing countries and in international development agencies.

The authors of the articles in this anthology examine the underlying impact of the cold war on protracted conflict in Africa and Asia. These area specialists examine the factors that produced prolonged conflict and what each side in them considered the cause(s) of these struggles. They analyze the reasons for "success" and "failure" in each of these regional conflicts.

Multilateral organizations - the United Nations (UN) in particular - have played, and continue to play, an important role in shaping the security sector reform (SSR) agenda, both in terms of policy development and the provision of support to a wide range of national SSR processes. This volume presents a variety of perspectives on UN support to SSR, past and present, with attention to policy and operational practice. Drawing from the experience of UN practitioners combined with external experts on SSR, this volume offers an in-depth exploration of the UN approach to SSR from a global perspective.