Youth, Protests and the Polycrisis
Exploring how youth protests can help to build public support for change
There has been a significant increase in global protests in recent decades, with students and young people at the forefront. This paper explores protests as a preferred method of political engagement by young people and an expression of their future aspirations. These are our main findings:
Young people prefer informal to formal political engagement, such as through protests and direct action, and various factors and grievances drive youth mobilization
Youth activism often stems from a perception of marginalization, with diverse political, environmental, economic and social issues triggering protests. Protests on global issues, such as against climate change or racism, including through transnational youth-led movements, have increased.
Young people help to diversify protest tactics and bridge online and offline activism
Digital technologies and platforms have been increasingly used by youth, bringing innovation to protests, fostering inclusivity and lowering the costs of organizing movements, though not without risks. Online mobilization may aggravate digital divides, and is also subject to surveillance, harassment and repression.
Youth participation can contribute to more peaceful and inclusive activism, but even non-violent action faces preemptive repression
Most protests involving youth are peaceful, contradicting a misperception that young people are violent and unruly. Additionally, protests with youth participation are more inclusive and larger. At the same time, governments are more prone to repress mass protests preemptively and violently when they involve youth.
Youth participation contributes to protest impact and social change, but this does not necessarily produce direct gains for young people
Young people’s participation in protests means less violent, larger, more inclusive and more innovative campaigns, and these elements contribute to higher impact. Mass protests where young people are on the front lines are more likely to be effective and to achieve positive outcomes in their aftermath. On the other hand, even when mass protests are successful, they do not seem to result in direct improvements for young people, suggesting a lack of youth involvement in the movements’ decision-making.
It is difficult to predict future levels of protest, but the research also points to important drivers of future activism: past protest levels, increasing food prices, declining satisfaction with life, particularly among youth, and higher levels of urbanization. Based on these predictors, it is expected that demonstrations and youth participation in them will continue to rise. The young people involved in this report agree with this assessment and envision even greater use of digital technology in their activism. They aspire to become more proactive and professional protestors, continuing to rely on non-violent methods and enjoying greater public recognition for their positive role.
Youth protests can play an important role in the construction of better futures. By raising awareness of important issues in their societies, and by providing a platform for young people to share their political demands, youth protests can help to build public support for change. Activists, young and adult, as well as policymakers, should take measures to harness this potential.
Highlights
Youth, Protests and the Polycrisis delves into this transformative potential of youth protests, while cautioning about the risks. Although many analyses exist on specific youth protests, fewer studies have global coverage. This paper combines quantitative research on protests with qualitative insights, including from young people themselves, and compiles some of the most valuable global findings. We explore two questions: What are the most relevant trends in youth protests, their context, motivations, methods and impact in the last two decades? And, based on the main drivers of protests, what can we expect in the future?
