To browse Academia. Youth and the Politics of the Present presents a range of topical sociological investigations into various aspects of the everyday practices of young adults in different European contexts. Indeed, this volume provides an original and provocative investigation of various current central issues surrounding the effects of globalization and the directions in which Western societies are steering their future.
Containing a wide range of empirical and comparative examples from across Europe, this title highlights how young adults are trying to implement new forms of understanding, interpretation and action to cope with unprecedented situations; developing new forms of relationships, identifications and belonging while they experience new and unprecedented forms of inclusion and exclusion.
Grounding this exploration is the suggestion that careful observations of the everyday practices of young adults can be an excellent vantage point to grasp how and in what direction the future of contemporary Western societies is heading. Offering an original and provocative investigation, Youth and the Politics of the Present will appeal to students and researchers interested in fields such as Youth Studies, Globalization Studies, Migration Studies, Gender Studies and Social Policy.
Enzo Colombo is a Professor of Sociology and Culture at the. In the s, European young adults on average have more years of education than any other youth generation, and hence should be better qualified and have better future prospects than ever before. For many of them, however, this is hardly the situation. Today, a rather gloomy picture emerges from research and official reports, e. Youth unemployment rose markedly as a result of the recession that followed after the financial crisis in and has remained at high levels in many countries.
In the UK, people in their twenties were worst hit by the crisis compared to other age groups in terms of unemployment, pay and incomes Hills et al. Similar patterns have been found in most other countries. This situation is deeply worrying from individual and societal perspectives, since spells of unemployment leave long-term scars, e.
