Over the last two decades the concept of agency has played a pivotal
role in childhood studies, bringing a radical shift into the old views
of children and childhood development. Based on drawings and walk-along
interviews with 70 children from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the
present study provides an analysis of children's agency across the
multiple settings in which they live. Our findings highlight the dynamic
interconnections between the children's agentic practices and the
multiple ecologies implied in promoting - or suppressing - their
opportunity to act and cope with their surroundings. Our research
challenges the dominant picture of children exposed to political
violence as helpless victim, portraying them as active agents who
mobilize resources both within themselves and throughout their social,
physical, and political world. The study suggests implications for
practices when designing intervention for children in contexts of
chronic political violence.