This Master’s thesis examines the influence of norms, social and political discourses and the roles of different actors on the construction of identity of child soldiers, either as victims of conflicts or as participants in conflicts. In the framework of social constructivism, the Master's thesis shows that the perception of child soldier identity is neither universal nor pre-attributed, but it is influenced by social, institutional and political discourses. It is therefore socially constructed. With the analysis of international legal norms, of the case law, the work of international organisations and the case studies of the role of children in armed conflicts in South Sudan and Nigeria, the Master's thesis illustrates the binary nature of the discourse on child soldier identity- as victims of conflicts and coercion, and as participants in conflicts, who many researchers, politicians and lawyers believe, should be held criminally responsible for acts committed during combat. Given the established international legal norms and the pursuit of humanitarian agendas, which have a major influence in both society and in the political sphere, the perception of child soldiers is primarily that of passive victims, who are, whatever acts they perform or are compelled to perform, in need of both protection and assistance to resume a normal life.
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