XIX ISA World Congress of Sociology (July 15-21, 2018)

JS-31

Social Movements, Youth Participation and New Transnational Forms of Citizenship

RC48 Social Movements, Collective Actions and Social Change (host committee)
RC34 Sociology of Youth

Language: English

Transnational scenarios coming also from globalisation processes require to promptly renew our way of thinking citizenship. Recent cultural, social, and political events show how citizenship and social movements interact in increasingly coloured and complex ways.  Supported by technological changes, social movements provide – at both a local and global levels – alternative spaces for the play, challenge and even (re)theorisation of transnational citizenship.

More and more young people are key actor in this process, actively participating in social movements and innovating social movement media supports and relationships. Young people envisage new futures and prospect an idea of citizenship no longer linked to territorial boundaries or ethnic affiliations.

Social movements, youth participation and citizenship frameworks converge where social movements are considered as collective forms of citizenship from below, and the construction of such a kind of citizenship often saw young activists at the forefront (gender rights, environmental justice and migrants rights are just but examples).

The session welcomes papers that address: (1) conceptual and theoretical frameworks, (2) methodological reflections, and (3) empirical investigations on the topics.