5th ISA Forum of Sociology (6-11 July 2025)

This symposium proposes to address the question of intergenerational solidarity, the moral and material connections that exist between the generations and the actual and potential tensions that strain these relations. These strains can be conceptualised in a number of ways, from notions of inter-generational competition in the direction taken by welfare policy to inter-generational conflicts within the family. The symposium seeks to address the issue of inter-generational solidarity from both cultural, familial and political perspectives, in the context of the continuing ageing of ageing societies. How might solidarity be conceived? How far do expressions of inter-generational solidarity vary between individualistic and familial cultures? In what ways is inter-generational solidarity understood? How far is the concept seen as a cultural phenomenon and how far is it framed as a political division within society? Is there a re-alignment away from class politics toward a 'generational politics'? What are the main issues that threaten existing patterns of intergenerational solidarity? This symposium seeks to attract presentations that cover one or more of these issues with the goal of gaining a clearer understanding of the term 'inter-generational' solidarity.