Youth Issues in Globalized Societies: Social Change, Neoliberalism, Political Participation. A Critical Overview

This paper seeks to address a specific aspect of the condition of youth today which results from the link between the impact of neoliberal policies and the critical reaction of young people to them. Starting from an awareness that the life experiences of young people in contemporary societies have changed significantly, we will attempt to analyze some aspects of this great transformation. The most influential changes that impact on the everyday life of young people are the transition from education to work, which forges their life experience. The paper focuses on a specific analytical approach which highlights a “structural ecology of youth” which is determined by the intertwining of macro (structural), meso and micro policies, that is the relationship between economics and politics, State and Market, public services and a private quasi-market, all of which define the framework of opportunities available to young people that can influence their lives and transition to adulthood. These conditions also affect both the constraints and opportunities for youth participation in politics. Neoliberal policies on the one hand, the mobilization protest and response on the other define the analytical structure of the paper. Some observations on the last global wave of social movements protest as a reaction to the global economic crisis in 2008-2011 are developed here, highlighting the involvement of youth in this mobilization and describing the main features of youth political participation.