Social Science Research Council

How young people become citizens, and the kinds of citizens they become, concerns a wide range of constituencies around the world: community associations, governments, international organizations, parents, educators, politicians, activists. Social scientists have looked at the political development and socialization of young people, the civic education they receive and the civic engagement experiences (mainly voluntary service) they undertake. What tends to get less attention, both in research and the world of practice and policy, are the kinds of citizens young people are now. This matters both because it affects the present quality of politics and the public sphere, and because it shapes young people's future political and civic selves.

There has been serious interest in poor voting turnouts among young people in advanced democracies (especially the U.S.) and the taking up of arms among some young people in conflicts in the developing world (see our program on Children and Armed Conflict). Beyond that, however, we know very little about young people's understanding of and engagement with the forces - local, state and global - that shape their lives, their sense of political efficacy and active citizenship. The goals of the SSRC efforts on Youth and Activism are to develop new approaches to understanding various aspects of youth activism, and especially those in which young people are involved in "contentious politics" through participation in purposeful and organized collective action. Aided by the Internet and other new information technologies, new forms of networking and translocal and transnational collaboration are occurring both within and outside of the social movements that emerge to change policies and challenge the authority of powerful institutions. Decentralized but often highly coordinated forms of action feature young people as central actors and often in leadership roles. We hope to provide better knowledge on which young people are involved in different types of issues and problems - community insecurity, the rollback in state-provided services, or global economic and cultural trends. Recent mobilizations such as the protests at major international meetings in Seattle and Genoa and the growing transnational advocacy on behalf of youth issues are an especially revealing aspect of the citizenship practices of young people. At the same time, it is critical to connect and compare understandings of this phenomenon to more local and national forms of youth activism and civic engagement.

We intend to pursue this topic by joining the insights of researchers and practitioners who understand how social movements work with those who focus on what young people know and do in relation to politics. This includes how they make use of new technologies and at times combine popular culture with political consciousness. Our ultimate goal is to synthesize existing knowledge on this topic and to point to new directions for research that can inform young people's citizenship practices, including their sense of themselves as "global citizens." Young people participate in a range of activities from organized oppositional protest to more mainstream forms of civic or political action. Understanding the goals, motivations, strategies, capacities, and limits of their participation is vital for shaping the future of democratic polities and enhancing the opportunities that globalization provides while addressing the inequities it generates within societies as well as across the world.

As first steps, the Council has held a planning meeting to develop a research agenda and has launched this website as a useful resource for research on youth activism. Over the next year, we intend to mobilize a working group of social scientists and practitioners that will develop new knowledge and analysis on youth activism and social movements.