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Marc Sommers
Marc Sommers is the award-winning author of 10 books. Across his career, he has blended peacebuilding and diplomacy with field research and training. His latest book, We the Young Fighters: Pop Culture, Terror, and War in Sierra Leone, tells the story of youth, war and
peace through a pop culture lens. It was the #1
Amazon New Release (War & Peace category)
and is a 2024 Montaigne Medal Finalist. Marc has served as a senior advisor for conflict and atrocities prevention at the State Department and for humanitarian assistance at the Department of Defense. He was seconded to the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) to work on violent extremism and CVE in Djibouti. He is a former Associate Research Professor at The Fletcher School and was a Fellow at The Wilson Center, USIP and The Bellagio Center. He has consulted for 6 policy institutes, OSCE, the World Bank, 5 UN agencies and 20+ NGOs. Marc received his A.B. in History from the University of Michigan and his Ph.D. in Anthropology from Boston University. He currently works as an international consultant based in the Washington, DC area.
Talk Information:
We the Young Fighters
June 21, 2024 | 9:00 AM
"We the Young Fighters: Pop Culture, Terror, and War in Sierra Leone" tells the story of war and peace through a pop culture lens. Award-winning author Marc Sommers has written an extraordinary new book on how reggae idol Bob
Marley, rap legend Tupac Shakur, and the Rambo movies wove their way into the fabric of alienation, resistance, and hope in the West African country of Sierra Leone. Youth turned to Marley for inspiration, Tupac for friendship,
and Rambo for instruction. Together, the 3 global superstars portrayed an upside-down world, where those in the right are blamed while the powerful attack them. During the nation's civil war, military commanders exploited the trio’s remarkable power over their young fighters and captives to fuel terror-based warfare. After the war, youth again turned to them for validation and support. The book ends with a framework for engaging with alienated youth and addressing predatory governance.