‘Throwing in my two cents’ : Burundian diaspora youth between conventional and transformative forms of mobilization

Abstract

Since its independence in 1962, Burundi has witnessed several episodes of civil war and political unrest. The most recent of these, which started in 2015, triggered the migration of approx. 400,000 Burundians to neighbouring countries and the rest of the world. Based on interviews with first- and second-generation Burundian youths living in France and Belgium, this contribution examines how Burundian diasporic youth mobilizes against the authoritarian regime in Burundi. It explores what motivates their engagement, and how they evade control and navigate threats of repression. It also sheds light on different mobilization paths, between rather conventional types of engagement and transformative forms of activism. It shows how Burundian diasporic youth in Belgium and France have developed a reflexive form of transnational awareness building on their hyphenated identities and challenging simplistic binaries, notably by identifying similarities between structures of power and oppression in Burundi and their countries of residence.