Skip to main content

Child Soldiers: A Nexus Between Child Laborers and Children Affected by Armed Conflict

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Children Affected by Armed Conflict in the Borderlands of Thailand
  • 110 Accesses

Abstract

This chapter overviews the history of child soldiers, who are a nexus between child laborers and children affected by armed conflict. Before the twentieth century, child soldiers were a commonplace. In the twentieth century, child soldiers presented new features, such as use of light weapons. As time passed, both non-state actors and armed forces of the conflict-affected countries have been recruiting and using child soldiers in the early twenty-first century.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 109.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 139.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Anderson, S. K., & Sloan, S. (2009). Historical dictionary of terrorism (3rd ed.). Toronto: Scarecrow Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Denov, M. S. (2010). Child soldiers Sierra Leone’s revolutionary united front. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Dupuy, K. E., & Peters, K. (2010). War and children: A reference handbook. Santa Barbara: Praeger Security International.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fass, P. S. (2004). Encyclopedia of children and childhood: In history and society. New York: Thomson Gale, cop.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fields, N. (2008). Warlords of republican Rome: Caesar versus Pompey. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Military.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gates, S., & Reich, S. (2009). Think again: child soldiers, Retrieved February 15, 2021, from http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2009/05/21/think_again_child_soldiers

  • Harbottle, E. (2001). Child soldiers–and others. Medicine, Conflict and Survival, 17(1), 71–76.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hick, S. (2001). The political economy of war-affected children. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 575(1), 106–121.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hindman, H. D. (Ed.). (2015). The world of child labor: An historical and regional survey. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hobbs, S., McKechnie, J., & Lavalette, M. (1999). Child labour: A world history companion. Oxford: ABC-CLIO.

    Google Scholar 

  • International Committee of the Red Cross. (1977). Protocol additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the protection of victims of international armed conflicts (Protocol I). Retrieved February 15, 2021, from http://www.icrc.org/ihl/7c4d08d9b287a42141256739003e636b/f6c8b9fee14a77fdc125641e0052b079

  • Kushner, H. W. (2003). Encyclopedia of terrorism. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Lyon, S., & Rosati, F. C. (2004). Child labor and children’s economic contributions. In A. Ben-Arieh, F. Casas, I. Casas, & J. E. Korbin (Eds.), Handbook of child well-being: Theories, methods and policies in global perspective. Dordrecht: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marten, J. A. (Ed.). (2002). Children and war: A historical anthology. New York: New York University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • McBride, J. (2014). The war crime of child soldier recruitment. The Hague: T.M.C. Asser Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Payton, M. (2016, October 31). More than 300 ISIS child soldiers killed in Mosul. Independent, The/The Independent on Sunday: Web Edition Articles (London, England).

    Google Scholar 

  • Phillips, C., & Axelrod, A. (2005). Encyclopedia of wars. New York: Facts on File.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosen, D. M. (2012). Child soldiers: A reference handbook. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosen, D. M. (2014). Reflections on the Well-being of child soldiers. In A. Ben-Arieh, F. Casas, I. Casas, & J. E. Korbin (Eds.), Handbook of child well-being: Theories, methods and policies in global perspective. Dordrecht: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosen, D. M. (2015). Child soldiers in the Western imagination: From patriots to victims. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ross, A. (2016, April 17). UK firm 'employed former child soldiers' as mercenaries in Iraq - former director acknowledges aegis defence services may have recruited former child fighters in Sierra Leone. Guardian, The (London, England).

    Google Scholar 

  • Schauer, E., & Elbert, T. (2010). The psychological impact of child soldiering. In E. Martz (Ed.), Trauma rehabilitation after war and conflict: Community and individual perspectives. New York: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stearns, P. N. (2005). Growing up: The history of childhood in a global context. Waco: Baylor University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stearns, P. N. (2010). Childhood in world history (2nd ed.). London: Routledge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Timothy, W. M. (2002). Children are being used as soldiers. Insight on the News, 18(42), 30–31.

    Google Scholar 

  • UN General Assembly. (2006). Report of the secretary-general: Children and armed conflict. A/61/529–S/2006/826.

    Google Scholar 

  • UN General Assembly. (2011). Children and armed conflict: Report of the secretary-general. A/65/820–S/2011/250.

    Google Scholar 

  • UN General Assembly. (2014). Children and armed conflict: Report of the secretary-general. A/68/878–S/2014/339.

    Google Scholar 

  • UN General Assembly. (2015). Report of the secretary-general: Children and armed conflict. A/69/926-S/2015/409.

    Google Scholar 

  • UN Secretary-General. (2016). Report of the expert of the secretary-general: Impact of armed conflict on children, delivered to the general assembly, U.N. Doc. A/51/306.

    Google Scholar 

  • UN Security Council. (2003). Security council calls for immediate halt to use of child soldiers, unanimously adopting resolution 1460. Retrieved February 15, 2021, from http://www.un.org/press/en/2003/sc7649.doc.htm

  • UN Security Council. (2004). Security Council Resolution 1539. Retrieved February 15, 2021, from https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N04/318/63/pdf/N0431863.pdf

  • UN Security Council. (2005). Security Council Resolution 1612. Retrieved February 15, 2021, from https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N05/439/59/pdf/N0543959.pdf

  • United Nations. (1996). Impact of armed conflict on children. A/51/306/Add.1.

    Google Scholar 

  • United States Department of State. (2015). 2014 Trafficking in persons report–Burma. Retrieved February 15, 2021, from http://www.refworld.org/docid/53aaba1c5.html

  • Uppard, S. (2003). Child soldiers and children associated with the fighting forces. Medicine, Conflict and Survival, 19(2), 121–127.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wagnsson, C., Hellman, M., & Holmberg, A. (2010). The centrality of non-traditional groups for security in the globalized era: The case of children. International Political Sociology, 4(1), 1–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2021 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Chen, K. (2021). Child Soldiers: A Nexus Between Child Laborers and Children Affected by Armed Conflict. In: Children Affected by Armed Conflict in the Borderlands of Thailand. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-1734-8_3

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-1734-8_3

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-16-1732-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-16-1734-8

  • eBook Packages: Law and CriminologyLaw and Criminology (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics