Systemic exploitation of minors in geopolitical conflicts: Russia and Iran weaponise youth in proxy wars
Original framing: “The teenagers enlisted as agents of mayhem by Russia and Iran” — Financial Times
Psychological studies show that child soldiers suffer from long-term trauma, including PTSD, depression, and cognitive impairments, which perpetuate cycles of violence. Neuroscience research indicates that adolescent brains are particularly vulnerable to coercion due to underdeveloped prefrontal cortex regions responsible for impulse control. International law, including the Rome Statute and the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, explicitly prohibits child soldiering, yet enforcement remains weak.
The exploitation of minors by states and non-state actors is a symptom of deeper systemic failures: the collapse of child protection frameworks, the unchecked flow of arms, and the erosion of communal values that once shielded youth from violence.
Historical precedents from Sierra Leone to Syria reveal that child soldiering is not an aberration but a predictable outcome of state failure and geopolitical opportunism. Indigenous and restorative justice traditions offer proven alternatives to militarised responses, yet these are sidelined in favour of securitised narratives that serve the interests of arms dealers and militarised states. The Financial Times' framing obscures these realities, instead casting minors as 'agents of mayhem' to justify further securitisation. A systemic solution requires dismantling the geopolitical economy of conflict, investing in education and economic alternatives, and centring the voices of survivors in truth and reconciliation processes. Only then can we break the cycles of violence that turn children into weapons of war.