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This article aims to discuss the intersections of the anti-feminist and anti-immigration agendas in the Portuguese far-right through critical discourse analysis of the PNR and Chega’s positions. These political actors convey nationalist, racist and anti-multiculturalist messages at the same time that they show their hostility towards gender equality policies, using racial, cisgender and heteronormative categories as criteria to define whose citizens are worthy of defense/protection. Recently, they have also co-opted gender equality agendas to justify anti-immigration positions, specifically opposing the hosting of refugees, depicted as a potential threat to the imagined Portuguese and European white and Christian community. The latter representation, apparently disruptive of their own conservative ideology based on protecting the traditional family/nation, is thus re-oriented in order to simultaneously attack “gender ideology”. The article shows how the mobilization of gendered and racialized tropes in the construction of Europe and Portugal as at risk from ‘external’ forces re-inscribes racist and xenhophobic securitarian discourses in the political sphere.

This article intends to challenge the dominant assumptions that undermine the potential application of peacebuilding frameworks beyond formal post-war contexts. It analyses the gangs’ truce that recently took place in El Salvador as a privileged laboratory to rethink hegemonic understandings and practices of peacebuilding by specifically addressing the importance of overcoming dichotomised categories such ‘war and peace’, ‘criminal and political’, and ‘success and failure’. It is claimed that while the truce fostered a discourse pointing towards an ongoing peace process and enlarged the public debate on the failings of post-war policies and on the structural roots of violence, it was also decisively undermined by the inability to surmount the dichotomy that juxtaposes the criminal and the political domains. It is argued that a peacebuilding framework, inspired by a set of critical perspectives on war and peace and on the nature of ‘the political’, may thus be of crucial importance for the future of policies aimed at curbing violence in El Salvador and elsewhere. Resumo Este artigo pretende desafiar os pressupostos dominantes subjacentes à aplicação de enfoques tradicionais aos processos de construção da paz, para além dos contextos formais das políticas pós-guerra. Analisa a trégua das gangues que ocorreu recentemente em El Salvador, tomando-a como um laboratório privilegiado para repensar entendimentos hegemônicos e práticas de construção da paz, abordando especificamente a importância de superar categorias dicotomizadas como “guerra e paz”, “criminal e político” e “sucesso e fracasso”. Afirma-se que, embora a trégua tenha promovido um discurso voltado a um processo de paz continuado e tenha ampliado o debate público sobre as falhas das políticas pós-guerra e sobre as raízes estruturais da violência, a mesma foi ao mesmo tempo decisivamente enfraquecida pela incapacidade de se superar a dicotomia que justapõe os domínios do político e do criminal. Argumenta-se que um quadro de construção da paz inspirado por um conjunto de perspectivas críticas sobre a guerra e a paz e sobre a natureza do “político” pode, portanto, ser de importância crucial para o futuro das políticas de combate à violência em El Salvador e em outros lugares.

EnglishThis article analyses the United Nations Security Council Resolutions on sexual violence in contexts of armed conflict. It understands these resolutions as a securitization process through which sexual violence becomes punishable, preventable and something to be fought against in the international realm. The article argues that by circumscribing sexual violence to the security paradigm, these Resolutions end up nevertheless undermining the understanding of sexual violence as a broader socio-political issue, anchored in gender representations and ideologies and related to dynamics of power and violence on a global scale, compromising its emancipatory potential. francaisCet article se penche sur les Resolutions du Conseil de Securite des Nations Unies portant sur la violence sexuelle dans des contextes de conflit arme comme un moment de securisation a partir duquel la violence sexuelle est percue comme un acte passible de punition, de combat et de prevention dans la sphere internationale. Nous soutenons que, en limitant la violence sexuelle au paradigme de la securite, les Resolutions finissent toutefois par mettre en cause l’entendement de celle-ci comme une question sociopolitique plus vaste, ancree dans des representations et des ideologies de genre et en rapport direct avec la dynamique de pouvoir et de violence a l’echelle globale, mettant ainsi en cause son potentiel emancipateur. portuguesEste artigo analisa as Resolucoes do Conselho de Seguranca das Nacoes Unidas sobre violencia sexual em contextos de conflito armado como um momento de securitizacao a partir do qual a violencia sexual passa a ser vista como algo passivel de punicao, combate e prevencao na esfera internacional. Defende-se que, ao circunscreverem a violencia sexual ao paradigma da seguranca, as Resolucoes acabam, no entanto, por colocar em causa o entendimento da mesma como uma questao sociopolitica mais vasta, ancorada em representacoes e ideologias de genero e relacionada com dinâmicas de poder e de violencia a escala global, comprometendo o seu potencial emancipatorio.

Nas últimas décadas, vários atores têm procurado promover a paz na periferia, enquadrados nas lógicas dominantes do intervencionismo global. Entre estes, ex-potências colonizadoras como Portugal têm vindo a intervir em espaços anteriormente sob o seu jugo colonial e onde se desenrolaram processos longos e complexos de violência. Este artigo analisa criticamente o papel de Portugal na promoção da paz, neste quadro duplo de ex-metrópole e de intervencionismo global. Começa, assim, por examinar brevemente o pensamento e prática destas intervenções e, de seguida, o contexto da política externa portuguesa pós-Revolução, explorando posteriormente os estudos de caso da Guiné-Bissau e de Timor-Leste. Por fim, o artigo debruça-se sobre as críticas a este intervencionismo e suas implicações, numa perspetiva pós-colonial. In the past several decades, various actors have sought to promote peace in the periphery, their actions framed by the dominant logics of global interventionism. Amongst these, former colonial powers, such as Portugal, have intervened in spaces that were once under its colonial yoke and where long and complex processes of violence have occurred. This article critically analyses the role of Portugal in promoting peace, within this double frame of former colonial relations and global interventionism. It briefly examines the thought and practice of interventions and the context of Portuguese foreign policy post-revolution, to then explore the case studies of Guinea-Bissau and East Timor. Finally, the article considers criticisms of this interventionism and its implications, from a post-colonial perspective.

Este artigo analisa as limitações da Resolução do Conselho de Segurança das Nações Unidas (2000) sobre Mulheres, Paz e Segurança (1325/2000) enquanto produto dos conceitos de género, violência e segurança que lhe subjazem. Apesar de representar um importante avanço em termos históricos e de agenda, abrindo possibilidades para um lugar reconhecido das mulheres nos processos de construção da paz e de acordos pós‑conflito, e garantindo que a violência contra elas seja encarada de forma séria tanto internacional como nacionalmente, permanecem várias limitações e desafios no que diz respeito ao alcance da Resolução. Defende‑se, aqui, que a Resolução é (apenas) um passo inicial rumo ao reconhecimento das conexões e possibilidades de diálogo entre género, violência e segurança, mas que a sua direção não transforma necessariamente os entendimentos sobre cada um dos conceitos nem as suas articulações no seio das Nações Unidas, dos Estados‑membros e das próprias organizações não‑governamentais dedicadas às questões de género, nomeadamente os grupos de mulheres. O questionamento dos limites da Resolução faz‑se sobretudo por referência à análise de outros contextos de violência armada que não guerras ou situações pós‑conflito, não abrangidos pela 1325, e em especial no que toca às suas dinâmicas de género. This article analyses the limitations of the United Nations Security Council resolution on Women, Peace and Security (1325/2000) as a product of the concepts of gender, violence and security underpinning it. Although it represents an important historical advance, offering women the chance for a recognized role in peacemaking processes and post‑conflict agreements, and ensuring that violence against them is taken seriously both nationally and internationally, the Resolution nevertheless has a number of limitations and challenges. It is argued here that the Resolution is (only) a first step towards the recognition of the connections and possibilities of dialogue between gender, violence and security, and that it does not necessarily transform the way each concept and the connections between them are understood within the United Nations, its member states and even non‑governmental organizations dedicated to matters of gender, particularly women’s groups. The limits of the Resolution are questioned by analyzing contexts of armed violence other than wars or post‑conflict situations that are not covered by 1325, focusing particularly on their gender dynamics. Cet article se penche sur les limitations de la Résolution du Conseil de Sécurité des Nations Unies (2000) portant sur les Femmes, la Paix et la Sécurité (1325/2000) en tant que produit des concepts de genre, de violence et de sécurité qui lui sont sous‑jacents. Bien qu’il s’agisse d’un progrès important en termes historiques et d’agenda, attribuant aux femmes la possibilité de jouer un rôle effectif dans les processus de construction de la paix et d’accords post‑conflit, ainsi que garantissant que la violence contre les femmes soit perçue avec gravité, tant au niveau international que national, il n’en subsiste pas moins plusieurs limitations et défis quant à la portée de cette Résolution. Nous soutenons ici que la Résolution n’est (à peine) qu’un premier pas en direction de la reconnaissance des connexions et des possibilités de dialogue entre genre, violence et sécurité, mais que la voie suivie ne modifie pas forcément les points de vue sur chacun des concepts, non plus que leurs articulations au sein des Nations Unies, des États membres et des propres organisations non gouvernementales qui se consacrent aux questions de genre, notamment les groupes de femmes. La mise en cause des limites de la Résolution trouve tout particulièrement son fondement dans l’analyse des contextes de violence armée autres que les guerres ou les situations post‑conflit, contextes que n’englobe pas la Résolution 1325 et, surtout, de ses dynamiques de genre.

This article analyzes the limitations of the United Nations Security Council Resolution on Women, Peace and Security (1325/2000) as a product of the concepts of gender, violence and security underpinning it. Although it represents an important historical advance, recognizing the potential role of women in peacemaking processes and post-conflict agreements, and ensuring that violence against them is taken seriously both nationally and internationally, the Resolution nevertheless has a number of limitations and challenges. It is argued here that the Resolution is (only) a first step towards the recognition of the connections and possibilities of dialogue between gender, violence and security, and that it does not necessarily transform the way each concept and the connections between them are understood within the United Nations, its member states and even non-governmental organizations dedicated to gender issues, particularly women’s groups. The limits of the Resolution are questioned by analyzing contexts of armed violence other than wars or post-conflict situations that are not covered by 1325, focusing particularly on their gender dynamics.

“Sexual violence in armed conflicts” (SVAC) é um projeto de investigação dirigido por Inger Skjelsbæk no conceituado Instituto de Estudos para a Paz de Oslo (PRIO). Num contexto internacional em que a violência sexual em conflitos armados tem recebido considerável atenção mediática e se tem assistido a algumas tentativas com vista a levar os responsáveis a julgamento e a promover medidas preventivas, este projeto parte do princípio de que, para se lidar com o problema eficazmente, é necessári...

O Instituto Promundo é uma organização não‑governamental brasileira que atua no Brasil e internacionalmente – com escritórios no Rio de Janeiro (Brasil), em Washington, DC (Estados Unidos) e em Kigali (Ruanda) – para promover masculinidades não‑violentas e relações de género equitativas. O Promundo define‑se como um instituto de pesquisa aplicada que leva a cabo programas de intervenção, testando e avaliando metodologias próprias, e que realiza ações de advocacy para políticas e programas em ...

O Observatorio de la Violencia de Género contra la Mujer é da responsabilidade da Organização de Mulheres Salvadorenhas (ORMUSA), uma ONG feminista que trabalha, formalmente desde 1985, em prol da igualdade e justiça entre os sexos no país. Dedica‑se à sistematização e divulgação de dados sobre vários tipos de violência contra as mulheres em El Salvador (feminicídios, violência sexual, intrafamiliar e social), baseando‑se nos relatórios da polícia, do instituto de medicina legal e na observaç...

A progressiva crença na obsolescência da guerra no contexto pós Guerra Fria tem contribuído para a ocultação dos processos estruturais que se perpetuam e que reproduzem as desigualdades e a marginalização ao nível global e que se constituem como e provocam violência. Ignora-se frequentemente que, perante a ausência de guerra, os meios e instrumentos de promoção e materialização da violência se trasladam para outras expressões, escalas ou actores. A partir dos casos da Guiné-Bissau e de Cabo Verde, este artigo pretende colocar em causa a separação estanque entre a guerra e a paz e sugerir que esta última pode ser um projecto igualmente violento, que se manifesta nomeadamente através do controlo dos jovens, quer através do poder exercido pelas elites em Estados periféricos, quer pelo mercado da pobreza e da insegurança à escala global. Defendemos que o grau de aceitação ou rejeição da marginalização e dependência como destino social, pelos jovens, é um factor essencial para a contenção ou promoção da violência colectiva. Ora, num contexto de consolidação de um conjunto de políticas e instituições internacionais destinadas a manter a segurança das elites globais, parecem cada vez mais reduzidas as possibilidades não violentas de reivindicação de um estatuto valorizado pelos jovens. The growing belief in war’s obsolescence in the post Cold War context favoured the occultation of remaining structural processes that reproduce inequalities and marginalisation at the global level. These processes constitute themselves as violence as they also produce violence. It is though frequently ignored that in the absence of war, the means and instruments that promote and consubstantiate violence are transferred to other manifestations, scales, and actors. Taking in to consideration the cases of Guinea Bissau and Cape Verde, this article intends to question the strict distinction between war and peace, suggesting that peace can also be an equally violent project, expressed through the control of youth, be that through the power exercised by elites in peripheral states, or through the poverty and insecurity market at a global scale. We argue that the degree in which marginalisation and dependency are accepted or contested by the youth as social destiny is a crucial determinant in containing or promoting collective violence. In the context of consolidation of a bulk of international policies and institutions aimed at keeping global elite’s security, it seems that the possibilities for non violent forms of youth’s vindication for a valued social status are less and less reduced.

The aim of this paper is to discuss the possible conditions for the emergence or containment of collective youth violence in two African capitals (Bissau and Praia) focusing on young people’s (re)actions to economic and social marginality. The visibility of violent groups in Praia – capital of a ‘model African country’ – contrasts with the apparent scarcity of these phenomena in Bissau – capital of an economically stagnant and politically unstable country. In this paper, we argue that more than looking at traditional theories that relate violence to poverty or social anomie, it is necessary to analyze, on the one hand, the role of social inequality in sustaining violence and, on the other hand, the degree of acceptance of the marginalization and social destiny by the young.

O facto de serem homens os que mais matam e morrem em tempo de guerra declarada tem determinado a invisibilidade e negligência de outros actores envolvidos nestes contextos. As mulheres, em concreto, têm sido o ausente social por excelência nas análises sobre conflitos armados e nas políticas de reconstrução pós-conflito Através de uma abordagem que privilegia a análise de continuuns de violência(s) para além de cenários considerados como guerra oficial, e tendo por base os contextos angolano, guineense e moçambicano, pretende-se demonstrar a proximidade entre zonas de guerra e zonas de paz, nomeadamente no que diz respeito à existência de inseguranças que não são consideradas relevantes no desenho e implementação de políticas levadas a cabo no pós-guerra. Pretende-se, em particular, analisar as formas de violência exercidas contra mulheres nestes contextos. The fact that it is men who kill and are killed most in times of war has led to the invisibility and neglect of other actors involved in these contexts. Women, in fact, have represented the prime social absence in analyses of armed conflicts and in post-conflict reconstruction policies. This wartime invisibility is prolonged into the post-war period. If during the armed conflict certain groups are not considered significant participants, being involved in, and suffering the impact of, wars in a different way – as is the case with women and children – in the post-war reconstruction period their needs remain marginalised. In addition, in order to turn the post-war period into a period of peace, violent practices must be silenced, and subsequently take on new characteristics. Through an approach foregrounding the analysis of continuums of violence beyond what may be considered the official war scenarios, and on the basis of Angolan, Guinean and Mozambican contexts, the aim of this article is to demonstrate the proximity of war and peace zones, specifically with regard to insecurities not considered relevant to the planning and implementation of post-war policies. In particular, the intention is to analyse the forms of violence practised against women within these contexts. Le fait que ce sont en particulier les hommes qui meurent et tuent en temps de guerre déclarée a déterminé l’invisibilité et l’oubli d’autres acteurs engagés dans ces contextes. Concrètement, les femmes sont les grandes absentes sociales par excellence des analyses sur les conflits armes et sur les politiques de reconstruction après-guerre. Cette invisibilité des guerres se prolonge dans les périodes d’après-guerre. Si, durant le conflit armé certains groupes ne sont pas tenus comme étant des éléments importants, qui participèrent et subirent les impacts des guerres de façon différenciée – comme c’est le cas des femmes et des enfants -, durant la période de reconstruction d’après-guerre leurs nécessités restent marginalisées. D’autre part, faire équivaloir la période après-guerre à une période de paix a exigé que l’on passe sous silence des pratiques violentes qui assument de nouvelles caractéristiques. A travers d’une approche privilégiant l’analyse de continuums de violence(s) par delà les scénarii considérés comme guerre officielle, et en prenant pour base les contextes angolais, guinéen et mozambicains, nous prétendons démontrer la proximité entre zones de guerre et zones de paix, particulièrement pour ce qui a trait à l’existence d’insécurités qui ne sont pas tenues pour importantes dans le tissu de politiques mises en place après-guerre. Nous avons en particulier pour but d’analyser les formes de violences commises contre les femmes dans ces contextes.

12th CODESRIA General Assembly: 07–11 December, 2008, Yaoundé, Cameroun. No final dos anos 90 iniciou-se no continente africano o estudo sistemático sobre a violência urbana, nomeadamente sobre a proliferação de gangs, com incidência sobre as cidades da África do Sul. Nesta comunicação propomos a análise destes fenómenos em cidades de menor escala, de países “pacíficos” da África Ocidental Guiné-Bissau: (Bissau) e Cabo Verde (Praia). A visibilidade da recente emergência de grupos violentos na Praia (denominados thugs) contrasta com o caso de Bissau, marcado por uma tímida presença de tais fenómenos. Trata-se de um paradoxo na distribuição geográfica das violências? Por que motivos a Praia, capital do que muitos analistas apontam como um “país modelo” africano, se sobrepõe a Bissau, capital de um país politicamente instável, saído de um conflito militar onde abundam armas de fogo em posse civil? Será apenas uma questão de visibilidade? Ou existem factores que, por enquanto, retardam mas acabarão por acelerar os mesmos tipos de fenómenos em Bissau? Em relação à violência na Praia, ela, poderá ser explicada, num primeiro olhar, pelo crescente número de repatriados (jovens emigrantes expulsos, sobretudo, pelo Estado Norte-Americano, devido a ligações ao crime e ao tráfico de drogas) que reproduzem formas de organização criminosa dos Estados Unidos da América (EUA). Isto mostraria a insuficiência das explicações tradicionais (abandono escolar, desemprego), uma vez que a situação dos jovens em Bissau, apesar de preocupante, não os leva a pegar em armas e a organizarem-se, ainda que existam grupos que se dedicam à prática de crimes e outros à luta contra os mesmos (vigilantes). Poder-se-á ainda justificar esta diferença pelo grau trivialização da violência relacionada com factores estruturais? A nossa hipótese nesta comunicação é a de que a forma como as identidades são construídas e estimuladas e os mecanismos de controlo social – relacionados, por exemplo, com a idade, com a comunidade ou com a participação na economia informal – exercido sobre as mesmas são factores determinantes da disseminação ou contenção das violências.

This article focuses on media representations of ‘the South in the North’ crosscutting the European mediascape in 2015 and the beginning of 2016. Assuming that both identities and perceptions of in/security are socially constructed, particularly by means of discourse, that security is gendered and gender constructions are in turn built on dynamics of in/security, and that gendered power relations and representations are always entangled with other structures of inequality and domination such as racism, this article argues that gendered categories of othering in the media’s representations have been critical to produce and justify 1) hegemonic narratives of securitisation that aim to protect an imagined European identity and 2) counter-narratives denouncing the racial and cultural discrimination tied to the ‘North’s’ hegemonic representations of refugees. Theoretically, the article proposes a dialogue among critical, feminist, and postcolonial peace and security studies. Methodologically, it analyses through discourse analysis three highly mediatised cases by examining the social representations of the refugees, namely their gendered components put forward by representative European media outlets based in the UK. It explores their implications in terms of the consolidation of stereotypes and hierarchies of suffering according to criteria of credibility/suspicion and vulnerability/threat, and identifies some examples of media counter-narratives on refugee flows through specific gendered and racialised representations. Resumo Este artigo concentra-se nas representações midiáticas do ‘Sul no Norte’ que perpassam mídia europeia em 2015 e início de 2016. Assumindo que as identidades, assim como as percepções de in/segurança, são socialmente construídas, particularmente por meio do discurso; que a segurança é genderificada e as construções de gênero são, por sua vez, construídas sobre as dinâmicas de in/segurança; e que as relações de poder e representações de gênero estão sempre emaranhadas com outras estruturas de desigualdade e dominação como o racismo, este artigo argumenta que as categorias genderificadas de representação de Alteridade na mídia têm sido essenciais para produzir e justificar 1) narrativas hegemônicas de securitização que visam proteger uma identidade europeia imaginada, e 2) contra-narrativas denunciando a discriminação racial e cultural ligada às representações hegemônicas ‘do Norte’ acerca dos refugiados. Teoricamente, o artigo propõe um diálogo entre os estudos para a paz e estudos de segurança críticos, feministas e pós-coloniais. Metodologicamente, analisa através da análise do discurso, três casos extremamente mediatizados, examinando as representações sociais dos refugiados, nomeadamente as suas dimensões de género apresentadas por meios de comunicação europeus representativos sediados no Reino Unido. Explora suas implicações em termos de consolidação de estereótipos e hierarquias de sofrimento de acordo com critérios de credibilidade/suspeita e vulnerabilidade/ameaça, e identifica alguns exemplos de contra-narrativas de mídia sobre fluxos de refugiados através de representações específicas de gênero e raciais.

Since men constitute the majority of those who use and are victimised by guns worldwide, prevention and combat policies and programmes have been aimed almost exclusively at men and boys, paying scant attention to the roles and impacts of gun violence on women and girls. However, the continuum of violence experienced by women and girls in these contexts is a synthesis of the main social ingredients of violence and its cultural basis. Thus, alongside sound knowledge of men’s and boys’ involvement in gun violence, a clear understanding of women’s and girls’ needs, rights and vulnerabilities is essential to reduce gun violence in general. This report aims to contribute to fll this gap. This report will concentrate on the analysis of the typologies and motivations for the involvement of women and girls in armed violence (as direct agents who actively participate, or indirect agents who play supporting roles such as in the transportation of frearms, drugs or information), and identify the importance and symbolism which they attribute to frearms; the examination of the direct consequences (death and injuries) and some of the indirect effects of armed violence on the lives of women (guns as instruments of intimidation and sources of insecurity in situations of domestic violence as well as determinants for the condition of survivors or relatives of lethal victims of gun violence); the initiatives, formal and informal, led by women in these contexts in response to gun violence, namely efforts to improve arms control regulations.

This paper analyzes the international, West African and national conditions that fuel the spread of the international drugs trade in West Africa, particularly in Guinea-Bissau. More specifically, it examines the impact of the international cocaine trade at a social, economic and governance level in the West African country.

Overall, despite the differences between Rio de Janeiro, San Salvador and Praia in terms of the incidence of youth violence, historical approaches and experience in dealing with the issue, Brazil, El Salvador and Cape Verde have all favoured an enforcement-based approach, focusing primarily on repression and law-enforcement mechanisms (police action, specific youth violence legislation, and prosecution, prison and socio-educational systems), instead of interventions aimed at the root causes of violent behaviour. However, recent changes in federal government approaches to public security in Brazil, coupled with state level changes, suggest the materialisation of a discourse shift in the field of youth violence, which has been in the making since the late 1990s. Another common feature in these countries is the incomplete availability of qualified information systems on violence and violent criminality, especially on organised crime and female involvement in urban violence. Civil society actions to prevent and combat urban violence are very diverse. In Brazil, especially Rio de Janeiro, NGOs, associations and grassroots organisations have a fairly long track record when dealing with the issue of youth violence, promoting initiatives and programmes mostly aimed at youth violence prevention, especially at the primary level. These initiatives and programmes have been based on skills training, sports, culture, empowerment and, to lesser extent, professional training and labour market integration. In San Salvador, despite the severity of youth violence, civil society approaches are less diversified and effective. Like any other violence-afflicted country in Central America, violence prevention and especially intervention programmes, namely those aimed at the perpetrators of violence, face greater disadvantages and less funding and support from the region’s crime-weary population. In Praia, the involvement of civil society in this matter has been slow. However, in recent years, the experiences of civil society organisations, sometimes in partnership with public institutions, have been singled out as good examples and as having had some direct impact on youth involved in violence in the Cidade da Praia. Responding to and effectively preventing youth urban violence requires a comprehensive approach which takes into account the intra-social forms of violence committed by and against youth, as well as the structural conditions which determine the marginalisation of youth. This includes prevention programmes which help young people in vulnerable situations, intervention programmes which offer alternatives for those attracted to violence, rehabilitation prospects for those who wish to leave violent groups, and those leaving prison and socioeducational systems. Capable and accountable law-enforcement bodies, protection and support mechanisms for victims of violence, adequate arms control policies, up-to-date data collection and analysis systems on youth and violence, and whole-of-government and multi-disciplinary approaches to violence are also key.

The aim of this paper is to discuss three main critical challenges which research and policymaking in the feld of collective youth violence in urban contexts face today. This paper argues that we need to shift the focus of research in this area from “problematic” youth to the study of the ways in which violence permeates daily lives and becomes normalised through specifc local social and political conditions. The paper then suggests that, in light of recent theory and empirical research, the relationship between violence and poverty should be re-evaluated. Additionally, and in order to properly address the causes of youth collective violence, this paper argues for a change of focus in the analysis of youth violent mobilisation. The suggested focus rests on the appeal of the symbolic revenues that mark the search for a valued social status and possibilities in contexts of adversity and violence. In fact, symbolic factors associated with the involvement in drugs traffcking and other violent activities and with youths’ contact with frearms are key factors, namely the search for status, power and respect, and attracting recognition from their male and female peers. The adrenaline and danger which youth experience through these activities are highly connected with gender constructions. Finally, this paper supports the progressively accepted evidence in favour of an urgent shift in how to address and prevent youth violence, claiming that repressive policies have hitherto failed to contain violence and to contribute to improving the formulation of preventive policies. This paper is based on data collection and analysis as well as reports from several studies conducted since 2006 in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), San Salvador (El Salvador), Praia (Cape Verde) and Bissau (Guinea-Bissau).