La militarización de la infancia y las políticas de pertenencia
una reinterpretación del reclutamiento infantil
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5007/1518-2924.2026.e109482Palabras clave:
Infancia, Militarización, Reclutamiento, Niños, EstadoResumen
Este artículo analiza críticamente la supuesta paradoja entre la infancia, entendida como un espacio-tiempo de inocencia, y la militarización, entendida como los procesos sociales que normalizan los valores militares como algo natural, a través de una reinterpretación del reclutamiento infantil. Utilizando el caso del Cuerpo de Entrenamiento de Oficiales de la Reserva Juvenil, sostengo que un enfoque crítico del reclutamiento infantil constituye una condición primordial de posibilidad para cuestionar cómo la infancia y la militarización interactúan de forma coconstitutiva, y cómo la relación entre ellas establece los contornos normativos de la construcción de la pertenencia política al Estado. El artículo subraya que el reclutamiento infantil no debe entenderse simplemente como una práctica formal de alistamiento, sino como un proceso marcado por la normalización gradual de los valores militares y la alineación ideológica con las Fuerzas Armadas. Así, este trabajo pretende contribuir a los debates contemporáneos sobre la militarización de la infancia, desplazando el foco del estereotipo del niño soldado hacia las formas en que la normalización del poder militar actúa como condición formativa de la pertenencia al Estado.
Citas
BAKER, M.; BOGEL-BURROUGHS, N.; MARCUS, I. Thousands of teens are being pushed into military's Junior R.O.T.C. The New York Times, New York, 11 dez. 2022. Disponível em: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/11/us/jrotc-schools-mandatory-automatic-enrollment.html. Acesso em: 18 out. 2025.
BASHAM, Victoria M.; BELKIN, Aaron; GIFKINS, Jess. What is Critical Military Studies? Critical Military Studies, v. 1, n. 1, p. 1-2, 2015.
BASHAM, Victoria. Liberal militarism as insecurity, desire and ambivalence: Gender, race and the everyday geopolitics of war. Security Dialogue, v. 49, n. 1-2, p. 32-43, 2018.
BASHAM, Victoria. M. Everyday modalities of militarization: beyond unidirectional, state-centric, and simplistic accounts of state violence. Critical Military Studies, p. 1-6, 2022.
BEIER, J. Marshall. Introduction: Everyday zones of militarization. In: BEIER, J. M. (Ed.). The Militarization of Childhood: Thinking Beyond the Global South. p. 1-16. Palgrave Macmillan, 2011.
BEIER, J. Marshall. Not the Usual Suspects: Making Child Soldiers in the Gunsight. Civil Wars, p. 1-19, 2024.
BEIER, J. Marshall. Programmatic recruitments: (para)militarizing children. In: BEIER, J. Marshall. Childhood, Militarism, and Everyday Life. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2026. (No prelo).
BEIER, J. Marshall; BERENTS, Helen. Introduction: Children and Childhoods in Global Political Perspective. In: BEIER, J. Marshall; BERENTS, Helen (Eds.). Children, Childhoods, and Global Politics. Policy Press, 2023.
BHABHA, Jacqueline. The child—what sort of human?. PMLA, v. 121, n. 5, p. 1526-1535, 2006.
BODINEAU, Sylvie. Refusing to be victims: child soldiers in the humanitarian world. In: DENOV, Myriam; FENNIG, Maya (Org.). Research Handbook of Children and Armed Conflict. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2024. p. 67-85.
BURMAN, Erica. Deconstructing Developmental Psychology. 3. ed. London: Routledge, 2016.
CRILLEY, Rhys. This is Belonging: Children and British Military Recruitment. In: DRUMBL, Mark A.; BARRETT, Jastine C. (Org.). Research Handbook on Child Soldiers. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2019. p. 1-13.
DRUMBL, Mark A.; BARRETT, Jastine C. Introduction. In: DRUMBL, Mark A.; BARRETT, Jastine C. (Org.). Research Handbook on Child Soldiers. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2019. p. 1-26.
EASTWOOD, J. Rethinking militarism as ideology: The critique of violence after security. Security Dialogue, v. 49, n. 1-2, p. 44-56, 2018.
ENLOE, Cynthia. Globalization and Militarism: Feminists Make the Link. 2. ed. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2016.
ENLOE, Cynthia. Maneuvers: The International Politics of Militarizing Women's Lives. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2000.
ESTADOS UNIDOS DA AMÉRICA (EUA). Army Recruiting Command. Headquarters. USAREC Regulation 350-13: School Recruiting Programs. Fort Knox, KY, 17 mar. 2021. 59 p. Regulamento.
FOUCAULT, Michel. Microfísica do poder [Microphysics of Power]. 5. ed. Rio de Janeiro: Paz e Terra, 2017. (Machado, R., Org., Introd., & Rev. Téc.).
GALAVIZ, B.; PALAFOX, J.; MEINERS, E. R. The Militarization and the Privatization of Public Schools. Berkeley Review of Education, v. 2, n. 1, p. 27-45, 2011.
HANSON, Karl; MOLIMA, Christelle. Getting Tambo out of limbo: exploring alternative legal frameworks that are more sensitive to the agency of children and young people in armed conflict. In: DRUMBL, Mark A.; BARRETT, Jastine C. (Org.). Research Handbook on Child Soldiers. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2019. p. 110-131.
HARDING, Scott; KERSHNER, Seth. A borderline issue: Are there child soldiers in the United States? Journal of Human Rights, v. 17, n. 3, p. 322-339, 2017.
JARVIS, Lee. Children’s Games and Global Politics: Masculinity, Militarism, and the Warrior Hero. Review of International Studies, v. 50, n. 1, p. 1–19, 2024.
JENKS, Chris. Childhood. 2. ed. London; New York: Routledge, 2005.
JÉZÉQUEL, Jean-Hervé. Child Soldiers in Africa: A singular phenomenon? Vingtième Siècle. Revue d’histoire, n. 89, p. 89-107, 2006. Fondation MSF / CRASH.
JONES, Ann. America's Child Soldiers JROTC and the Militarizing of America. The National Network Opposing the Militarization of Youth (NNOMY), 4 jun. 2022. Disponível em: https://nnomy.org/en/971-america-s-child-soldiers-jrotc-and-the-militarizing-of-america.html. Acesso em: 18 out. 2025.
KERSHNER, S.; HARDING, S.; HOWLETT, C. Breaking the War Habit: The Debate over Militarism in American Education. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2022.
LEE-KOO, Katrina. Horror and Hope: (re)presenting militarised children in global North-South relations. Third World Quarterly, v. 32, n. 4, p. 725-742, 2011.
LUTZ, Catherine. Making Soldiers in the Public Schools: An Analysis of the Army JROTC Curriculum. Diane Publishing, 1995.
LUTZ, Catherine. The Military Normal: Feeling at home with counterinsurgency in the United States. In: CAMPBELL, R. (Ed.). Violence and civilization: Studies of Social Violence in History and Prehistory. Oxford: Oxbow. p. 183-191. 2014.
MABEE, B.; VUCETIC, S. Varieties of militarism: Towards a typology. Security Dialogue, v. 49, n. 1-2, p. 96-108, 2018.
MACMILLAN, Lorraine. Militarized children and sovereign power. In: BEIER, Marshall (Ed.). The Militarization of Childhood: Thinking Beyond the Global South. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011. p. 61-76.
MANZO, Kate. Imaging humanitarianism: NGO identity and the iconography of childhood. Antipode, v. 40, n. 4, p. 632-657, 2008.
MAZZARINO, Andrea. The War on Terror and the Battle for Young Minds. Inkstick Media, 2023. Disponível em: https://inkstickmedia.com/the-war-on-terror-and-the-battle-for-young-minds/. Acesso em: 18 out. 2025.
MCGAULEY, Sylvia. The military invasion of my high school: The role of JROTC. The Education Digest, v. 80, n. 8, p. 40, 2015.
MILLAR, Katharine M. Support the troops: Military Obligation, Gender, and the making of political community. Reino Unido: Oxford University Press, 2022.
OKYERE, Samuel. Introduction: International Child Protection and Its Discontents. In: HOWARD, N.; OKYERE, S. (Eds.). International Child Protection. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, 2022. p. 1-27.
ONU. A/51/306 - Impact of armed conflict on children. Nova Iorque: United Nations, 1996. Disponível em: https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N96/219/55/PDF/N9621955.pdf?OpenElement. Acesso em: 18 out. 2025.
ONU. S/RES/1612 (2005) - Nova Iorque: United Nations, 2005. Disponível em: http://unscr.com/en/S/RES/1612 (2005)resolutions/doc/1612. Acesso em: 18 out. 2025.
PÉREZ, G. M. Citizen, student, soldier: Latina/o youth, JROTC, and the American dream. New York: New York University Press, 2015.
ROSEN, David M. Child Soldiers in the Western Imagination: From Patriots to Victims. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2015.
SHEPHERD, Laura J. Militarisation. In: BLEIKER, Roland. Visual Global Politics. US and London: Routledge, 2018.
TABAK, Jana. “Children Without Childhood”: Representations of the Child-Soldier as an International Emergency. In: SANDIN, Bengt et al. (Eds.). The Politics of Children’s Rights and Representation. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 2023. p. 161-180.
TABAK, Jana. The Child and the World: Child-soldiers and the Claim for Progress. University of Georgia Press, 2020.
TABAK, Jana. Tools of War, Tools of State: Stories of the Child Combatant in Global North–South Relations. In: BAMEKA, Christelle Molima et al. (Org.). Children and Violence: Agency, Experience, and Representation in and beyond Armed Conflict. London: Routledge, 2025. p. 196-212.
TABAK, Jana; ARAUJO, Marcos do Vale. Na interseção entre as agendas de segurança e direitos humanos: a proteção da infância nas operações de paz da ONU. In: DUARTE, G.; CARVALHO, L. (Org.). Azul da cor da paz? perspectivas e debates sobre as operações de paz da ONU. Belo Horizonte: Editora PUC Minas, 2022. p. 198-217.
TABAK, Jana; HERZ, Monica; HOFFMANN, Andrea Ribeiro. Encontro de Agendas na ONU: Segurança, Direitos Humanos e Infância. In: FERNANDES, Sandra; SIMÃO, Licínia. (Coords.). O Multilateralismo: Conceitos e práticas no século XXI. Coimbra: Imprensa da Universidade de Coimbra, 2019. cap. 2, p. 43-65.
TANNOCK, Stuart. Is "Opting Out" Really an Answer? Schools, Militarism, and the Counter-Recruitment Movement in Post-September 11 United States at War. Social Justice, San Francisco, v. 32, n. 3, p. 163-178, 2005.
TYNES, Robert. American-Made Child Soldiers. Civil Wars, p. 1-29, 2023.
UNICEF. Protocolo Facultativo à Convenção sobre os Direitos da Criança relativo ao Envolvimento de Crianças em Conflitos Armados. Paris: UNICEF, 2000. Disponível em: https://gddc.ministeriopublico.pt/sites/default/files/documentos/instrumentos/protocolo_facultativo_a_convencao_sobre_direitos_crianca_relativo_%20participacao_conflitos_armados.pdf. Acesso em: 18 out. 2025.
UNICEF. The Cape Town Principles and Best Practices. Paris: UNICEF, 1997.
UNICEF. The Paris Principles: Principles and Guidelines on Children Associated with Armed Forces or Armed Groups. Paris: UNICEF, 2007.
US ARMY JROTC (AJROTC). Leadership and Education Training 1 (LET 1): The Emerging Leader. Estados Unidos: Pearson, 2015.
US ARMY JROTC (AJROTC). Army Junior ROTC Program Overview. [S. l.], 2025b. Disponível em: https://www.usarmyjrotc.com/army-junior-rotc-program-overview/. Acesso em: 18 out. 2025.
US ARMY JROTC (AJROTC). JROTC Curriculum Overview. [S. l.], 2025a. Disponível em: https://www.usarmyjrotc.com/army-junior-rotc-program-overview/. Acesso em: 18 out. 2025.
WOODWARD, Rachel. Not for Queen and Country or Any of That Shit...: Reflections on Citizenship and Military Participation in Contemporary British Soldier Narratives. In: COWEN, Deborah; GILBERT, Emily (Org.). War, Citizenship, Territory. London: Routledge, 2008. p. 363–384.
Descargas
Publicado
Número
Sección
Licencia
Esta obra está bajo una licencia internacional Creative Commons Atribución 4.0.
Os autores cedem à Em Tese os direitos exclusivos de primeira publicação, com o trabalho simultaneamente licenciado sob a Licença Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Internacional (CC BY). Estra licença permite que terceiros remixem, adaptem e criem a partir do trabalho publicado, atribuindo o devido crédito de autoria e publicação inicial neste periódico. Os autores têm autorização para assumir contratos adicionais separadamente, para distribuição não exclusiva da versão do trabalho publicada neste periódico (ex.: publicar em repositório institucional, em site pessoal, publicar uma tradução, ou como capítulo de livro), com reconhecimento de autoria e publicação inicial neste periódico.
Em Tese by http://www.periodicos.ufsc.br/index.php/emtese/index is licensed under a Creative Commons - Atribuição 4.0 Internacional.
