Conservatism, Authoritarianism, and Chauvinism within Youth Culture Around the World

Throughout the tradition of youth studies, youth have been viewed not only as the next generation of social members who internalize existing social norms, but also as agents of social change who create new cultures and social orders through experiencing contradictions between the preexisting social norms and changing social structures. However, researchers have noted that since the 2000s, in the context of globalization and a prolonged worldwide economic recession, the younger generations have come to display attitudes and actions in support of conservatism, authoritarianism and chauvinism. Particularly in recent years, these reactionary aspects of youth culture have taken forms such as homophobic and transphobic bullying, support for unilateralist and autocratic political leaders, and exclusionary attitudes toward immigrants, the disabled, and homeless. Furthermore, the emergence of new social media (e.g., Instagram, WhatsApp, Twitter, YouTube, and TikTok) have facilitated the spread and resonation of such attitudes across national borders at various levels. Provided that, the effects of these technological advancements may vary according to each country/regions’ civic traditions, educational practices, economic and political circumstances. In this session, then, we call for theoretical or empirical papers related to reactionary youth culture with conservative, authoritarian, or chauvinistic aspects, including one or more of cabalist, antiliberal, antidemocratic, nationalist, racist, sexist, or hetero-normative elements. Furthermore, qualitative and quantitative research, comparative research, and media or discourse analysis are also highly appreciated.