Youth Engagement in Violent Extremism in Northern Mozambique: Forgotten Issues in the Translation of Drivers

Mozambique has been facing violent extremism since October 2017. Ever since many research groups have been concerned with understanding the motivations for violence and many hypotheses have been explored, from the most appealing ones that have to do with extreme poverty, unemployment and low levels of education, to the most complex ones that have to do with ethnicity, marginalization, corruption and instrumentalization of marginalization through the financing of violence. I have been part of many individual and group analyses for different audiences on this phenomenon. On many occasions, I have seen my colleagues and I limited in our ability to provide answers. Especially given the fact that the group has no clear leadership, hasn’t presented grievances to the government and there is no openness to dialogue. Thus increasing the gap between what research reports present as causes of violence and the manifestation of violence itself. This presentation discusses the drivers of violence in Northern Mozambique by introducing elements of grievance not conveyed in formal conversations or interviews and, therefore forgotten. The data used in this reflection is based on literature reviews, Key Informant Interviews, Focus Group Discussions and non-systematic observation throughout the multiple fieldwork in Northern Mozambique.