Child soldiers remain poorly understood and inadequately protected, despite significant media attention and many policy initiatives. This Research Handbook aims to redress this troubling gap. It offers a reflective, fresh and nuanced review of the complex issue of child soldiering. The Handbook brings together scholars from six continents, diverse experiences, and a broad range of disciplines. Along the way, it unpacks the life-cycle of youth and militarization: from recruitment to demobilization to return to civilian life. The overarching aim of the Handbook is to render the invisible visible – the contributions map the unmapped and chart new directions. Challenging prevailing assumptions and conceptions, the Research Handbook on Child Soldiers focuses on adversity but also capacity: emphasising the resilience, humanity, and potentiality of children affected (rather than ‘afflicted’) by armed conflict. Learn More

Despite a rapidly changing economic and legal landscape, Italian mafias remain prominent actors in the global criminal underworld. This book provides an extensive and up-to-date view of how they adapt to shifting economic opportunities and intensifying legal and civic backlash. Learn More

Exploring everything from contemporary challenges to ocean security this book offers detailed insights into the increasing activities of state and non-state actors at sea. Chapters revisit the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOSC), highlighting how not all maritime security threats can be addressed by this, and further looking at the ways in which the LOSC may even hinder maritime security. Learn More

Contracts with private military and security companies are a reality of modern conflicts. This discerning book provides nuanced insights into the international legal implications of these contracts, and establishes an in-depth understanding of the impacts for contracting states, home states and territorial states under the current state responsibility regime. Learn More