This article explores the likelihood of seeing the younger generation of Western Sahara refugees have recourse to violent extremism in lieu of a non-violent political struggle for independence. It is argued that destitution in the refugee camps along with the spreading of the terrorist threat in the Sahara and Sahel region constitute exacerbating factors in the increasing discontent of the youth exiled in the Algerian desert. In this context, a quantitative study was undertaken to explore the relationship between factors like age, poverty and gender and the abandonment of non-violent political resistance. Three instruments were used to conduct this research: the Post-Migration Living Difficulties Questionnaire, the Activism and Radicalism Intentions Scales, and the Feeling Thermometer. The results found that there was a strong relationship between poverty and the likelihood to abandon non-violence. The purpose of this research is to provide recommendations to policy-makers and to the authorities in charge of the Western Sahara dossier.
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