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1. The Influence of Political Processes and the War in Ukraine on the Formation of Generation Alpha and the iGeneration (Z): Defining Specific Features

Author:
Liudmyla Kryvachuk
Publication Date:
06-2022
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Nowa Polityka Wschodnia
Institution:
Faculty of Political Science and International Studies, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń
Abstract:
The article attempts to analyse and define the specific features of the iGeneration (Z) and Generation Alpha in Ukraine in the context of the political processes and the war taking place in Ukrainian society. The article discusses the generation issues, taking into account the characteristics of the iGeneration (Z) and Generation Alpha. Assuming that a generation is an identifiable group of people who share a similar time of birth and significant events at critical stages of development, the article presents an original approach to determining the specific features of the iGeneration (Z) and Generation Alpha in Ukraine. The Orange Revolution (2004), the Revolution of Dignity (2014) and the hybrid war (2014-2022) and Russian-Ukrainian war (from 24.02.2022) had a significant impact on the formation of the iGeneration (Z) and Generation Alpha in Ukraine.
Topic:
Children, Geopolitics, Youth, Social Policy, Hybrid Warfare, Generation, Generation Z, and Russia-Ukraine War
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, and Ukraine

2. Bringing child immigration detention to an end: The case of EU return procedures

Author:
Anastasia Karatzas
Publication Date:
11-2022
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
European Policy Centre (EPC)
Abstract:
The harmful consequences of child immigration detention are, by now, increasingly well-documented. Evidence attests to the long-lasting and negative impact of the practice on children’s health, well-being and development, and has given rise to an international consensus firmly against its continued use. However, the European Union’s policies fail to reflect any such agreement, which is evident not least in the context of the Return Directive and member states’ continued use of the practice. As it stands, the detention of minors is permitted by the Directive and remains a plausible option both according to the European Commission’s proposal to recast it and the Council of the EU’s position on the matter. Furthermore, although the Directive mandates member states to explore all plausible alternatives and use child immigration detention only as a measure of last resort, evidence suggests that detention is prolific and other measures underused. In the recast proposal, little looks set to change on this front either, with the use of alternatives having fallen mostly by the wayside. In this context, this paper argues that, with negotiations on the file ongoing, the time for the EU to shift gears, ban the practice, and mandate member states to implement alternatives is now opportune.
Topic:
Immigration, Children, European Union, and Detention
Political Geography:
Europe

3. Second-generation immigrants and native attitudes toward immigrants in Europe

Author:
Oscar Barrera, Isabelle Bensidoun, and Anthony Edo
Publication Date:
06-2022
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre d'Etudes Prospectives et d'Informations Internationales (CEPII)
Abstract:
This paper investigates the role played by immigrants and their children in shaping native attitudes toward immigrants in the European Union. By exploiting the 2017 Special Eurobarometer on immigrant integration, we show that countries with a relatively high share of immigrants are more likely to believe that immigrants are a burden on the welfare system and worsen crime. In contrast, native opinions on the impact of immigration on culture and the labor market are unrelated to the presence of immigrants. We also find that the effects of second-generation immigrants on pro-immigrant attitudes toward security and fiscal concerns are positive (as opposed to first-generation immigrants). Finally, we find no impact of the immigrant share on the attitudes of natives supporting far-left or left political parties, while it is the most negative among respondents affiliated with far-right parties.
Topic:
Children, European Union, Immigrants, Ideology, Welfare, and Nativism
Political Geography:
Europe

4. R (Begum) v Special Immigration Appeals Commission; R (Begum) v Secretary of State for the Home Department; Begum v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2021] UKSC 7, [2021] AC 765

Author:
Eric Fripp
Publication Date:
07-2022
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Statelessness & Citizenship Review
Institution:
Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness, Melbourne Law School
Abstract:
The decision of the Supreme Court represents yet another prompt to reflection asto the very wide provision for deprivation of British citizenship bytheSSHD undertheBNA 1981s 40(2). By making clear the paucity of domestic law restraints upon the SSHD, the decision may ultimately have the effect of moving attention to the question—which the Supreme Court did not address —of whether domestic law safeguards, if not reformed, might be found so insufficient as to fall short of the international law norm prohibiting arbitrary deprivation of nationality, which the European Court of Human Rights in recent cases has been willing to find applicable through the broader art 8 ECHRrights. That question looms over the future but will,for the moment,remain unresolved. It also raises important questions concerning the absence of protection from serious harms which may, given the technical nature of the statelessness definition, not be alleviated by protection from statelessness, and leaves to be resolved on the facts of future cases important issues of child law, including the international human rights protections of the CRC89.
Topic:
Law, Children, Citizenship, Courts, and Stateless Population
Political Geography:
United Kingdom and Europe

5. Democracy, Demography, and the Future of the European Union

Author:
Dubravka Šuica and William Kattrup
Publication Date:
09-2022
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Institution:
Brown Journal of World Affairs
Abstract:
Dubravka Šuica is the European Commission Vice President for Democracy and Demography. She is leading the Commission’s work on deliberative democracy, the Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE), demography, children’s rights, and child protection.
Topic:
Demographics, Children, European Union, Democracy, and Protection
Political Geography:
Europe

6. Children of War: The Ukrainian Case

Author:
Isabella Martin
Publication Date:
12-2022
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
International Centre for Defence and Security - ICDS
Abstract:
The war in Ukraine has imposed considerable physical, mental, and emotional damage on children. It is critical to provide mental health and psychosocial support (MPHSS), as well as to reinforce psychological and social infrastructure—in Ukraine and countries hosting refugees—to help them cope with the immediate trauma of war and promote resilience for future reconstruction efforts. Severe damage to civilian infrastructure has left many children without access to schools, healthcare resources, and support networks within care facilities, while those who have fled Ukraine risk falling victim to human trafficking and exploitation. Moreover, children are targets of the Kremlin’s efforts to erase the Ukrainian identity, brutally executed through oppressive policies such as forced school curriculum in the occupied territories and atrocious practice of ’filtration’, with children separated, abducted, and then put up for adoption in Russia. Inside and outside of the country, Ukraine’s youth are left extremely vulnerable to abuse, with the consequences to their mental health to last for generations—and to affect the nation’s post-war recovery—if not taken care of already today. Without developing proper coping mechanisms in children and adolescents now, the trauma imposed on the young generation will hinder rebuilding efforts and undermine societal institutions. It is thus imperative to support MHPSS initiatives and contribute to a resilient society in post-war Ukraine.
Topic:
Security, Civil Society, Education, Health, War, Children, Resilience, and Russia-Ukraine War
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, and Ukraine

7. Social Policy Programme “The Family 500+” – Assumptions, Results, and Costs of Functioning: Is It Worth?

Author:
Anna Owczarcyk
Publication Date:
01-2021
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:
Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:
The unfavorable demographic situation and the falling number of births resulted in an increased interest among Polish politicians in introducing tools to social policy that would reverse this negative trend. Implemented to social policy by Prawo i Sprawiedliwość Party in 2016, the “Family 500+” benefit has become such a tool. According to the government’s intention, this financial aid for families with children aims to reverse the decline in the number of births observed for many years and reduce the scale of poverty among families with the most complex financial situation. After several years of the “Family 500+” Program in force, it is difficult to clearly define whether the goals were achieved and whether the expenses for financing the program were adequate to the results. The aim of the article is an attempt at the assessment of the functioning of the Family 500+ Programme. Both the statutory assumptions of the programme, the costs of its functioning, and its results so far were analyzed. The central part of the analysis covered the period 2016–2019.
Topic:
Poverty, Children, Social Policy, and Welfare
Political Geography:
Europe and Poland

8. Case Study 2. Bulgaria: "How Children's, Women's, and LGBT Rights Got Lost in Translation; The Development of the Most Effective Gender-Restrictive Movement in Eastern Europe

Author:
Juliana Martínez, Ángela Duarte, and María Juliana Rojas
Publication Date:
03-2021
Content Type:
Case Study
Institution:
Elevate Children Funders Group
Abstract:
The Istanbul Convention (IC) was the first European treaty to provide a comprehensive framework to address all forms of violence against women and girls. With wide support from across the political spectrum, the EU presented it to member states for ratification in 2011. Despite the endorsement of 18 European countries, Bulgaria became the first country to decide against ratifying it in 2018. Furthermore, the Bulgarian Constitutional Court declared the treaty unconstitutional. Though this decision took many by surprise, it was the culmination of years of work by gender-restrictive groups in the country. As a member of the European Union since 2007, Bulgaria is a signatory of multiple international declarations that protect LGBT,60 women’s, children’s, and human rights. However, over the last decade—and particularly since 2018—the country has also seen the rise of well-organized gender-restrictive groups that have successfully worked to curtail the advancement of human rights and gender justice.61 Bulgaria’s rejection of the IC was the first of a series of events that jeopardized human rights by directly undermining LGBT, women’s, and children’s rights.
Topic:
Human Rights, Children, Women, LGBT+, and Gender
Political Geography:
Europe, Eastern Europe, and Bulgaria

9. "Diversifying" Social Investment: European Welfare States and Immigrant Integration in the Wake of the COVID-19 Crisis

Author:
Anton Hemerijck and Liam Patuzzi
Publication Date:
09-2021
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Migration Policy Institute (MPI)
Abstract:
Across Europe, the COVID-19 pandemic has strengthened awareness of the importance of robust, well-functioning welfare states in helping individuals, families, and communities weather threats to their lives and livelihoods. Initial EU and Member State responses to the pandemic and its economic fallout were much more vigorous than responses to other recent economic shocks, such as the Great Recession and the European debt crisis. Even so, European societies will likely have to contend with long-term social and economic impacts, which in many cases are exacerbating existing inequalities. The shift in the structure and goals of welfare spending since the start of the pandemic can be understood through the prism of “social investment.” In recent decades, European welfare states have moved away from a predominantly reactive focus on financial safety nets that protect individuals during periods of unemployment and illness, and toward investing in people’s human capital and employability to help them navigate life transitions and drive growth in advanced knowledge economies. Looking ahead, the success of social-investment policies will depend on their ability to account for immigration and diversity, increasingly prominent features of European societies that are central to understanding the nature and development of socioeconomic inequalities. This report explores whether the social-investment approach to welfare states could serve as a tool for post-pandemic recovery—particularly in diverse, immigrant-receiving societies. It examines how European welfare systems fared and adapted during the Great Recession, how social investment seeks to balance social and economic goals, and how lessons from recent immigrant integration policy developments could help improve the reach, accessibility, and relevance of social-investment initiatives.
Topic:
Education, Health, Children, Employment, Family, Welfare, Integration, COVID-19, and Workforce
Political Geography:
Europe

10. Lessons from Ukraine: Shifting International Surrogacy Policy to Protect Women and Children

Author:
Emma Lamberton
Publication Date:
05-2020
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Public and International Affairs (JPIA)
Institution:
School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA), Princeton University
Abstract:
Ukrainian surrogacy companies now hold over a quarter of the global surrogacy market since a series of human rights violations caused India, Thailand, and Nepal to close their borders. Similar violations are occurring in Ukraine, including the abandonment and trafficking of children and the abuse of surrogates. The Ukrainian government is not taking action, despite concerns expressed by both lawmakers and surrogates that the industry engages in unethical practices. This paper proposes that the Hague Conference’s Experts’ Group on the Parentage/Surrogacy Project spearhead international ratification of a holistic series of policies focused on protecting women and children from exploitation.
Topic:
International Relations, Children, Women, International Development, and Human Trafficking
Political Geography:
Europe, Central Asia, Eurasia, and Ukraine

11. Economic Mobility across Generations: Old versus New EU Member States

Author:
Roy van der Weide, Ambar Narayan, and Mario Negre
Publication Date:
01-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS)
Abstract:
A country where an individual’s chances of success depend little on the socio-economic success of his or her parents is said to be a country with high relative intergenerational mobility. A government’s motivation for seeking to improve mobility is arguably two-fold. There is a fairness argument and an economic efficiency argument. When mobility is low, it means that individuals are not operating on a level playing field. The odds of someone born to parents from the bottom of their generation will be stacked against him or her. This is not only unfair but also leads to a waste of human capital, as talented individuals may not be given the opportunity to reach their full potential. Reducing this inefficiency will raise the stock of human capital and thereby stimulate economic growth. Since the waste of human capital tends to be concentrated toward the bottom of the distribution, the growth brought about by mobility-promoting policy interventions tends to be of an inclusive nature, in line with the spirit of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 10 on reducing inequality. For large parts of the world’s population, individual education is still too closely tied to the education of one’s parents, and there is a clear divide between the high-income and developing world. The patterns observed globally are also observed within Europe. Intergenerational mobility (or equality of opportunity) is visibly lower in the new member states (i.e. Eastern Europe), where national incomes are lower. Raising investment in the human capital of poor children towards levels that are more comparable to the investment received by children from richer families will curb the importance of parental background in determining an individual’s human capital. Countries at any stage of development can raise intergenerational mobility by investing more to equalise opportunities. The evidence strongly suggests that public interventions are more likely to increase mobility when: a) public investments are sufficiently large, b) are targeted to benefit disadvantaged families/ neighbourhoods, c) focus on early childhood, and d) when there is a low degree of political power captured by the rich.
Topic:
Education, Children, Inequality, Family, and Economic Mobility
Political Geography:
Europe, Global Focus, and European Union

12. An Expanded View of Government’s Role in Providing Social Insurance and Investing in Children

Author:
Sandra E. Black and Jesse Rothstein
Publication Date:
01-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Economics for Inclusive Prosperity (EfIP)
Abstract:
While private provision of goods often yields the efficient outcome, there are a number of goods that are not efficiently provided in the private market. Here, we outline two such situations: investments in child care and education, and insurance against risks created by business cycles, poor health, and old age. Because private markets work poorly for these goods, and the costs of market failure are large, standard economic reasoning implies a significant role for government provision. The reduction in economic insecurity that this would bring could help to improve political stability as well, by reducing the stakes that people perceive in discussions of trade, immigration, technological change, and countercyclical policy (Inglehart and Norris, 2016). Many observers (e.g, Hacker, 2018) have pointed to economic anxiety as a potential contributor to populist reactions in the U.S. and many European countries; a public sector that acts to reduce the risk that households face could ameliorate this, generating political spillovers and improving the state of the country more broadly.
Topic:
Economics, Education, Health, Health Care Policy, Children, Economic Policy, and Economic Theory
Political Geography:
United States and Europe

13. UK-born children of EU nationals in the UK: historical, national and local perspectives

Author:
Nando Sigona
Publication Date:
06-2019
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
UK in a Changing Europe, King's College London
Abstract:
This research shows that the share of births to at least one EU parent has been increasing since the mid-2000s. In 2016 it was 12% of all births in England and Wales, 13% in Northern Ireland, and 10% in Scotland. The study also shows a change in the main countries of birth of EU parents, where the share of births to mothers and fathers from 2004 accession countries has increased.
Topic:
Children, European Union, Citizenship, and Brexit
Political Geography:
United Kingdom, Europe, England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales

14. Is There a Motherhood Penalty in Academia? The Gendered Effect of Children on Academic Publications

Author:
Mark Lutter and Martin Schroder
Publication Date:
02-2019
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies
Abstract:
Based on data that tracks CV and publication records as well as survey information from sociologists in German academia, we examine the effects of parenthood on the publication output of male and female academics. Results indicate that having children leads to a sig- nificant decline in the number of publications by women, while not affecting the number of publications by men. We also find that the gendered effect of children on productivity hardly mitigates differences in publication output between men and women, as women still publish about 20 percent less than men after controlling for the adverse effects of chil- dren on productivity. We further find that the gendered effect of childbearing depends partly on prior levels of women’s academic achievements, which suggests mechanisms of performance-driven self-selection. Lower-performing women tend to suffer a stronger motherhood penalty, while the publication output of more successful women (who have been granted academic awards) is not reduced through childbirth. The results indicate that women are better at managing the “double burden” of parenthood and career if external, award-giving committees have bestowed prestige upon them and indicated their potential for a scientific career. Overall, these findings contribute to a better understanding of how to reduce the adverse effect of children on female publication output.
Topic:
Gender Issues, Children, Women, Feminism, and Academia
Political Geography:
Europe, Germany, and Central Europe

15. Is There a Motherhood Penalty in Academia? The Gendered Effect of Children on Academic Publications

Author:
Mark Lutter and Miriam Schröder
Publication Date:
02-2019
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Max Planck Sciences Po Center on Coping with Instability in Market Societies (MaxPo)
Abstract:
Based on data that tracks CV and publication records as well as survey information from sociologists in German academia, we examine the effects of parenthood on the publication output of male and female academics. Results indicate that having children leads to a significant decline in the number of publications by women, while not affecting the number of publications by men. We also find that the gendered effect of children on productivity hardly mitigates differences in publication output between men and women, as women still publish about 20 percent less than men after controlling for the adverse effects of children on productivity. We further find that the gendered effect of childbearing depends partly on prior levels of women’s academic achievements, which suggests mechanisms of performance-driven self-selection. Lower-performing women tend to suffer a stronger motherhood penalty, while the publication output of more successful women (who have been granted academic awards) is not reduced through childbirth. The results indicate that women are better at managing the “double burden” of parenthood and career if external, award-giving committees have bestowed prestige upon them and indicated their potential for a scientific career. Overall, these findings contribute to a better understanding of how to reduce the adverse effect of children on female publication output.
Topic:
Children, Inequality, Academia, Gender, and Motherhood
Political Geography:
Europe and Germany

16. February 2018 Issue

Author:
Charles Lister, Raffaello Pantucci, Michael Horton, Kendall Bianchi, and Miles Hidalgo
Publication Date:
02-2018
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
CTC Sentinel
Institution:
The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point
Abstract:
The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point is proud to mark its 15th year anniversary this month. In this issue’s feature article, Charles Lister tells the inside story of how al-Qa`ida lost control of its Syrian affiliate, drawing on the public statements of several key protagonists as well as interviews with Islamist sources in Syria. In the summer of 2016, al-Qa`ida’s Syrian affiliate, Jabhat al-Nusra, announced it was uncoupling from al-Qa`ida and rebranding itself. Al-Qa`ida’s deputy leader at the time, Abu al-Khayr al-Masri, released a message endorsing the move, which even included a previously unheard audio clip of Ayman al-Zawahiri stressing that organizational links should be sacrificed if necessary for unity, creating the impression that al-Qa`ida’s paramount leader had also sanctioned the decision. What appeared to be a carefully choreographed set of announcements made many analysts conclude the split was nothing more than a PR exercise, designed to advance the local aims of al-Qa`ida in Syria by improving al-Nusra’s standing among Syrian rebel groups and insulating it from international pressure. But this interpretation was challenged by a bombshell message released by al-Zawahiri on November 28, 2017. Al-Qa`ida’s leader publicly revealed that not only had he not endorsed the split, but he regarded it as a “a violation of the covenant.” “Al-Zawahiri’s interjection was a watershed moment,” Lister writes, “making clear to the wider global jihadi movement that a real split had taken place between al-Qa`ida and its Syrian affiliate.” One function of the split has been the beginnings of a tense modus vivendi between hardcore al-Qa`ida loyalists in Syria and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (the latest rebrand of al-Nusra). The result, Lister argues, is “a complex counterterrorism threat, in which a locally focused jihadi outfit with a sizable 12,000 fighters continues to control territory, govern people, and maintain sources of local finance, while accepting—even grudgingly—a deeply dangerous, small, tight-knit clique of al-Qa`ida terrorists committed to attacking the West. That image looks eerily similar to the Taliban-al-Qa`ida relationship in Afghanistan in 2000-2001, the consequences of which are well known to all.” Our interview this month is with Deputy Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu, the Senior National Coordinator for Counterterrorism Policing in the United Kingdom. Michael Horton examines the challenges faced by the UAE in its counterinsurgency campaign against al-Qa`ida in Yemen. Kendall Bianchi looks at how Hezbollah has used the mothers of fighters killed in Syria to promote martyrdom. Miles Hidalgo, one of the CTC’s Downing Scholars, provides a first-hand account of the cooperation between Europol and U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) at Europol’s headquarters in The Hague.
Topic:
Terrorism, Children, Counter-terrorism, Women, Al Qaeda, Conflict, and Hezbollah
Political Geography:
United Kingdom, Europe, Middle East, Lebanon, Syria, and United States of America

17. June/July 2018 Issue

Author:
Kirsten E. Schulze, Brian Dodwell, Dakota Foster, Daniel Milton, David Sterman, and Robin Simcox
Publication Date:
07-2018
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
CTC Sentinel
Institution:
The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point
Abstract:
This summer marks the end of an era for us. Lieutenant Colonel Bryan Price, the Combating Terrorism Center’s longest-serving director, is retiring after 20 years of service in the Army, the last six at the helm of the CTC. During that time, he was a tireless champion for the CTC and its staff and cemented its status as one of the leading research institutions in the terrorism studies field. In a conversation with Brian Dodwell, who is taking over as director, LTC Price reflects on his service at the CTC and the essential need for rigorous research to understand the evolving threat landscape. There is concern that Islamic State-linked terror is on the rise in Southeast Asia. On Sunday, May 13, 2018, three churches in Surabaya, Indonesia, were targeted by suicide bombers comprising one single family of six. The following day, a family of five rode two motorbikes to the entrance of the city’s police headquarters where they blew themselves up. The attacks saw the confluence of several trends in jihadi terrorist plotting—an increased reliance on family networks and an increased embrace of women and children in combat roles. In our cover article, Kirsten Schulze outlines the evolving threat from pro-Islamic State militants in Southeast Asia’s most populous country. Dakota Foster and Daniel Milton build on the the CTC’s previous analysis on the personnel records of just over 4,100 Islamic State foreign fighters to focus on what the records reveal about the smaller subset of 267 children. David Sterman also analyzes the Islamic State’s personnel records to compare and contrast the profile of recruits with previous experience in Libya and Afghanistan. Robin Simcox documents an alleged terrorist conspiracy by an all-female cell guided by an Islamic State cybercoach to plot attacks in the Paris area in 2016.
Topic:
Terrorism, Children, Counter-terrorism, Women, Islamic State, Jihad, Foreign Fighters, and Child Soldiers
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, Europe, South Asia, Indonesia, France, Libya, North Africa, and Southeast Asia

18. Children in the Levant: Insights from Belgium on the Dilemmas of Repatriation and the Challenges of Reintegration

Author:
Rik Coolsaet and Thomas Renard
Publication Date:
07-2018
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
EGMONT - The Royal Institute for International Relations
Abstract:
According to intelligence estimates, there are around 1,400 European children in Syria and Iraq, many of them born there. The fate of these children confronts European governments with moral, legal, political, diplomatic and security dilemmas. Governments are divided over the issue, but almost all are reluctant to address it head-on. None have taken a proactive stance with regard to these children, creating several security voids. This policy brief looks into the fate of these European children before exploring in more detail the situation of the Belgians among them. It analyses the position of the Belgian government with regard to repatriation and reviews existing policies concerning returning children. The authors end up with a number of recommendations for Belgian and European authorities, including a plea for a more proactive response.
Topic:
Security, Children, Displacement, and Reparations
Political Geography:
Iraq, Europe, Middle East, Belgium, and Syria

19. (Un)Friendly School Environments? Bully and Microagression as a Cause for Roma Children's Academic Underachievement

Author:
Andreea Carstocea
Publication Date:
12-2018
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
European Centre for Minority Issues
Abstract:
When it comes to education policy-making for Roma children, both research and policy-making focus mostly on issues related to segregation, access to education, poverty, and social exclusion. One item that has so far been mostly absent is a focus on the school and classroom environment, namely the prejudiced, hostile, and discriminatory attitudes and actions either of teachers or of classmates towards Roma pupils. In response to this gap, this Working Paper will focus on bullying and microaggressions against Roma pupils in schools, acknowledging it as a significant factor shaping these children’s experience at school. After reviewing the relevant academic debates on bullying and microaggressions, the Working Paper will attempt to summarise the existing evidence of bullying of Roma children in schools across Europe. Finally, following an overview of the existing recommendations by European organisations, as well as of national level policy responses to this issue, the Working Paper will conclude that there is a pressing need for comprehensive data collection, academic research, and policy-making concerning bullying and microaggressions against Roma pupils in schools.
Topic:
Education, Minorities, Children, Ethnicity, Discrimination, Academia, and Identity
Political Geography:
Europe

20. What Post-WWII Schoolchildren Learned about the World

Author:
Susan Douglass
Publication Date:
09-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Center for Contemporary Arab Studies (CCAS)
Abstract:
A look at the role of textbooks in shaping worldviews, global literacy, and national pride. The middle of the twentieth century was a watershed period in history for many reasons, with one of the most significant being the rise of mass education systems across the world. As Britain shed its colonies, newly independent countries with influential leaders launched efforts to educate their masses—efforts that had been held back under colonial rule. India and Egypt, under Nehru and Abdel Nasser respectively, began using government schools to strive for social integration and mold their citizens’ worldviews to enlist them in national economic development and modernization. Britain, too, launched a much-needed expansion of its secondary education system and revamped its elementary schools to meet the demands of the postwar baby boom.
Topic:
Education, Nationalism, History, and Children
Political Geography:
Britain, Europe, South Asia, Middle East, India, and Egypt

21. Does and Should International Law Prohibit the Prosecution of Children for War Crimes?

Author:
Noëlle Quénivet
Publication Date:
04-2017
Content Type:
Journal Article
Abstract:
This article investigates whether international law prohibits the prosecution of children for war crimes and, if it does not, whether it should do so. In particular, the interplay between restorative and retributive post-conflict justice mechanisms, on the one hand, and juvenile rehabilitative justice mechanisms, on the other, is discussed in detail. The article suggests that in certain, narrow, circumstances children having committed war crimes should be prosecuted.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Human Rights, International Law, Children, War Crimes, and Transitional Justice
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, Europe, and Democratic Republic of Congo

22. From Juvenile System Reform to a Conflict of Civilizations in Contemporary Russian Society (De la réforme de la justice des mineurs au conflit de civilisations dans la société russe contemporaine)

Author:
Kathy Rousselet
Publication Date:
06-2014
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches Internationales
Abstract:
Youth delinquency has been a hot topic in Russian society for many years. Numerous associations, NGOs and international organizations have raised public awareness of the problem and have encouraged the government to place judicial reform on its agenda. However, debate over how to apply it, the various possible models and how to structure the relationship between social and judicial institutions has been limited. Discussion has instead focused on the relative priorities to be given to the interests of children versus those of the family, so-called “traditional” versus “liberal” values, and the extent to which the State should interfere in the private lives of Russian citizens. Discussion of the actual situation of children at risk and the concrete problems posed by reform have been overshadowed by rumors, encouraged by a discourse of fear in an increasingly violent society that tend to distort the real problems. Additionally, implementation of international norms and judicial reform has been largely blocked by the patriotic agenda of the State.
Topic:
Crime, Democratization, Human Rights, Sociology, Prisons/Penal Systems, Reform, Children, Youth, and Political Science
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, and Asia

23. Sweden's Social Democracy Spirit and its Success Story About CHildren Rights

Author:
Menekşe Tokyay
Publication Date:
03-2013
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Global Political Trends Center (GPoT)
Abstract:
This paper examines the role of grassroots activities in Sweden concerning children rights protection and how the country has become a role model for the whole world in terms of human development and children rights, with special reference to the best practices they have elaborated throughout their history in order to tackle each specific problem regarding children who are classified as full human beings having the same rights as adults. This paper emphasizes that the Swedish children’s rights’ protection model should become a reference point for all other countries, including Turkey, in improving policy paradigms and ways of doin& things when incorporating grassroots organizations’ energy and innovation into the problem solving mechanisms.
Topic:
Development, Politics, Children, and Democracy
Political Geography:
Europe, Turkey, and Sweden

24. Depressive mood and children: Europe and South Korea

Author:
Antonio Rodríguez Andrés, Rosemary L. Hopcroft, and Yong-Hwan Noh
Publication Date:
04-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institute for Advanced Development Studies (INESAD)
Abstract:
Using data for the third wave from the European Social Survey (ESS) and the Fourth Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES), this research examines the relationship between having children at home and depression among men and women aged 18-75 years. Multilevel and probit regression models are applied. Our results show that there is a gender differential in depression. Having children at home improves psychological well-being for men only in 23 European countries and South Korea. In Europe we also find that depression tends to be lower in countries in which per capita income is higher. The results also show that household income is negatively associated with levels of depression in South Korea.
Topic:
Children, Mental Health, Depression, and Income
Political Geography:
Europe, Asia, and South Korea

25. The Education of Migrant Children: An NGO Guide to EU Policies and Actions

Publication Date:
11-2010
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Open Society Foundations
Abstract:
Rising migration into Europe is now the largest factor of population growth among most EU member states. This trend is manifested in the area of education, where pupils of migrant origin comprise up to half or more of the total number of students in some schools. In these very diverse student bodies, there are higher-than-average rates of academic underachievement and early dropout, which are directly linked to problems of social marginalization, failure to integrate, and future unemployment. The education of migrant children and youth is, therefore, now viewed not only as an economic issue, but also most importantly as a political and human rights issue. As a result, education has become a key instrument in long-term integration and social inclusion strategies, and consequently a key policy area for the EU. This guide is intended as a tool for better understanding EU policies, responsibilities, and funding mechanisms related to the education of migrant children and youth within existing EU agendas on human rights, equal treatment, antidiscrimination, integration, social inclusion, and education and training.
Topic:
Education, Children, European Union, Youth, Unemployment, and Marginalization
Political Geography:
Europe