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Yi Hyun Kang, photo.

Yi Hyun Kang

Postdoctoral fellow

Yi Hyun Kang, photo.

Forum: Youth as Boundary Actors in International Studies

Author

  • Amandine Orsini
  • Yi Hyun Kang
  • Emmanuel Ampomah
  • Adam Cooper
  • Laura Gomez-Mera
  • Brian Gran
  • Anna Holzscheiter
  • Roberto Salve
  • Anaëlle Vergonjeanne

Summary, in English

Youth represent a great part of humanity and have always been active and intriguing political actors, yet youth remain sidelined in international studies. Issues of social identity perception and its consequences have been embraced by post-positivist approaches in international studies. Yet, while race, gender, and class challenges are shaking the discipline, age is a key research gap. To fill this gap, the conceptual departure of this forum is to study youth, taking 16–30/35 as an age range, as “boundary actors” in international politics. We assembled contributions that address this conceptual departure on topics, including health, conflict, climate change, and indigenous people’s rights, across all world regions with specific focuses on Africa and Asia. Overall, the forum demonstrates that youth are able to move the boundaries: (i) of norms in international politics by asking for a more inclusive implementation of human rights and/or environmental justice; (ii) of procedures by suggesting to broaden decision-making; (iii) of international activism by combining social media and protests as new strategies. Taken together, the contributions show that youth have and are a world-building project, not just a world-confirming project.

Publishing year

2025-08-01

Language

English

Pages

299-334

Publication/Series

International Studies Perspectives

Volume

26

Issue

3

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Topic

  • Other Social Sciences not elsewhere specified

Keywords

  • acteurs frontaliers
  • agentes fronterizos
  • boundary actors
  • derechos humanos
  • droits de l'homme
  • estudios internacionales
  • human rights
  • international studies
  • jeunes
  • juventud
  • youth
  • études internationales

Status

Published

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 1528-3577