Youth and Generational Change

Youth plays a key role in the constant changes that politics and society undergo. On the one hand, young people may become politically active, on the other, youth provides a highly contested imaginary of a country’s experiences and expectations. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, young people across Eastern Europe have experienced radical changes in their living conditions including the educational system, economic opportunities, and political conditions. These changes have implications for the relationship between young and old and the role young people play in Eastern Europe today as agents for change or stability. This research cluster explores questions of generational change and intergenerational transmission of political and social views as well as young people’s understanding of politics and their political activism and identities in the context of government-initiated youth policies. The individual projects draw on different methods, such as surveys, interviews, and discourse and text analysis.