Youth Reform

Movements

D A ANU NAIR
2013
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THE NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF ADVANCED LEGAL STUDIES

(A State University Est. by Act 27, 2005 of Kerala State Legislature)

KOCHI, KERALA

Youth Reform Movements

Sociology Reseach Project

D A ANU NAIR

1st Semester - B.A. LL.B. (Hons.)

Roll No: 2013

Submitted to: Ms. Anna Thomas

Faculty – Sociology (The National University of Advanced Legal Studies,Kochi)

Date of Submission: 24 October 2023.

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ABSTRACT

Youth reform movements are organized, deliberate initiatives by young people to effect

or oppose societal change. Youth movements, a significant characteristic of modern societies,

develop from generational tensions and relationships and are anchored in unique sociohistorical

situations. Student rebellions, cultural innovations (literary, artistic, and musical), scientific

revolutions, religious reforms, ethnic revolts, nationalist and political generations, and

environmental, peace, and antiwar movements are all examples of youth movements. Attempts

to understand the origins and patterns of modern youth movements have focused on two types

of generational conflict: (a) intergenerational conflict (involving young people's dissatisfaction

with the status quo and their contemporaries' authorization to work for social and political

change), and (b) intragenerational conflict among competing generation units or mobilized

youth groups (revolutionary, progressive, moderate, conservative, and reactionary). Most

youth movements have historically arisen in response to questions of citizenship, social

discontinuities, and cultural expressiveness. There have been five distinct historical generations

or extraordinary waves of youth movement activity in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries:

the Young Europe Generation (1815-48, 1860-90); the Post-Victorian Generation (1890-1920);

the Great Depression Generation (1930-40); the 1960s Generation (1960-70); and the 1980s

Generation (1980-90). While eruptive and episodic, youth movements have become an

effective means for young people to mobilize around new concerns confronting their age group

and will continue to be an important force for societal change.

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Table of Contents

1. Introduction 4-5

2. Youth Reform Movements 6-17

3. Conclusion 18

4. References 19-20
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INTRODUCTION

Youth problems predate history, but youth movements as we know them today are less than

two centuries old. Youth movements are forms of collective action in which age-conscious

groups or generation units mobilize to promote or oppose change. Generational units emerge

from the unique combination of generational and historical dynamics, which results in

exceptionally tumultuous eras in human history. These dynamic periods, known as historical

generations, are temporary combinations of historical and generational forces that are so

intertwined that they operate as a single causal force for change - a one-of-a-kind combination

of circumstances and social forces that may never be repeated exactly the same way.

(Braungart, 1984a, 1984b).

During specific periods in world time (defined as the temporal order or unfolding of major

local, national, and global events, as well as patterns of institutional structure and change), self-

conscious, mobilized groups of young people act on behalf of their historically conditioned

beliefs, attempting to expand new social, political, and cultural opportunities. Historical

generations, represented by generational movements and generation units, reject existing social

and political forms and erupt in a flurry of political and cultural activity, in contrast to recurring

age cohorts, which come of age on a continuous basis and act in relative harmony with

prevailing historical forces. ... Social and political forms, resulting in a frenzy of political and

cultural activity. Historical generations indicate epochs of "moral upsurge" (Mills) or "creedal

passion" (Huntington) in human history, epochs in which cultural aspirations collide with

social reality. Generational movements are fueled by the friction and tension caused by newly

established or perceived values and existing social and political situations. Young people are
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especially sensitive to social discontinuities and paradoxes in the society they will inherit

eventually. Generational groups embrace ideas that appear difficult to realize through existing

social and political mechanisms.

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YOUTH REFORM MOVEMENTS

John R. Gillis in his book Youth and History said that youth does in fact have its

own history, replete with traditions, institutional forms, functions within the

larger social order and an evolving historic development tightly bound up with

the larger evolution of European society.

Gillis follows that transition in Western Europe from the conventional youth

culture of the eighteenth century to the problematic time of young adaptation to

the modernizing process (1770-1870). He investigates the discovery of

adolescence among European middle-classes near the end of the nineteenth

century, as well as the spread of teenage living styles and institutions down the

social scale in the first part of the twentieth century. He ends on a positive note,

citing a recent trend toward increasing adolescent maturity, autonomy, and

absorption into the adult world. Gillis connects these changes in young people's

position and way of life to broader shifts in Western culture, such as the industrial

revolution and the population expansion. He attributes these shifts to the growth

of age-specific institutions such as public schooling and conscript armies, Sunday

schools and Boy Scouts, as well as informal social structures such as village age-

group organizations and city street gangs.

They may be a creative force, a dynamic source of invention, and they have surely

participated in, contributed to, and even accelerated significant changes in

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political systems, power-sharing processes, and economic opportunities

throughout history.

Youth, on the other hand, confront poverty, educational hurdles, various forms of

discrimination, and restricted employment prospects and chances.

HISTORY

Young people's increased political participation is a synthesis of historical,

generational, and behavioral dynamics that combine to produce historical

generations and generational units with their own distinct character and shape.

Political disagreement and conflict, not only between generations

(intergenerational), but also within generations (intragenerational), define the

momentum of historical generations and generation units.

Historical generations take the shape of generational units or youth movements

when a group of young people rejects the existing system, band together, and

strive to change the path of human history.

Historical generations and generational units are characterized by both

intergenerational and intragenerational conflict; when youth movements confront

adult society, a variety of opposing generational units generally develop. These

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movements fiercely struggle with one another over specific social and political

goals and how to accomplish them. Historical generations and generation units

run their course and decline after a brief time of heightened activity. The youth

movement's effectiveness in society and impact on history are determined by the

duration and changes brought about by historical generational forces.

Intergenerational conflict occurs when the new generation rejects and

considerably extends beyond the dominating older generation's values, customs,

and behaviors. This friction disrupts the continuity of generations and severs the

institutional ties that ordinarily bind generations together. Intergenerational

conflict creates barriers between generations, making it difficult for the elder

generation's values and conventions to be passed to or assimilated by the younger

age.Intergenerational conflict can arise when historical changes create interage

inequity and individuals with conscious interests decide that mobilizing

adolescents against their elders would be beneficial for social, cultural, and

political reasons.

According to the empirical literature on the historical and generational roots of

youth-related discontent, youth movements have not been random political

behavior, but have clustered around four global time periods. The Young Europe,

Post-Victorian, Great Depression, and 1960s Historical Generations were times

when historical events intersected with generational forces in a unique way to

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produce remarkable youth movement activity. The same structural characteristics

that formed the Young Europe historical generation between 1815 and 1848

occurred as youth movements grew fast throughout Latin America, Asia, the

United States, Africa, and the Middle East.

Over nearly two centuries, the rapid growth of youth movements has been

spectacular, beginning with only a handful generational movements in Europe in

the early 1800s and expanding to at least 50 nations having recorded youth

movements in the 1960s. The same conditions that fostered political involvement

among 19th-century European youth have fostered similar types of political

activity among young people around the world.

In the form of deauthorization and authorization, historical changes and

discontinuities interact with generational dynamics to produce young

movements, and this process is global.

Examining each of the four periods of heightened youth movement activity

reveals that, while there are some similarities and some differences in the patterns

of historical factors related to youth movements, the theme of generational

conflict is shared by all four periods. In each scenario, the younger generation

delegitimizes the older generation over reasons such as war defeat, colonialism,

and a lack of economic and political prospects. Simultaneously, and perhaps more

importantly, they empower their own youth to fight for nationalism, enhanced

citizenship, university reform, and political ideology. The problems that give rise
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to deauthorization and authorization differ, but generational conflict between the

young and their elders appears to be a consistent component connected with the

rise of historical generations and generational units.

When one examines the literature on youth movements, one finds strong support

for the argument that youth mobilization takes the form of intergenerational

conflict: when youth come into contact with a disappointing or conflicting set of

historical circumstances that they perceive to be created by the older generation,

they organize for change. Mobilization takes shape through a process of adult

generation deauthorization and younger generation authorization to actively work

to change the direction of human history.

In addition, when intergenerational conflict develops, one might expect to see the

creation of competing political groupings within the younger generation, as well

as intragenerational conflict within generation units that disagree and publicly

struggle over the direction of social change. This dynamic process is an important

component of historical generational and generational unit theory, although it has

yet to be demonstrated.

The Young Europe Generation, which began with the Burschenschaften and

extended throughout Germany between 1815 and 1848, was the first period of

generational movement activity that produced generation units. The

Burschenschaften movement was divided into two factions: the liberal,

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progressive Germania Burschenschaften wing and the conservative, traditional

Arminia Burschenschaften wing.

Both of these generation units openly contended for control of the greater

movement. Around the same time, left-wing generation units in Italy, France, and

later in Russia campaigned against tyranny and for nationalism, while opposition

right-wing generation groups arose in support of the monarchy and ruling class.

These early student movements established the socio-political framework for

subsequent youth movements. (Braungart, 1984)

Youth activism across the world

In the early 2010s, youth activism in the Global South increased. People under

the age of 18 account for 46% of the worldwide population, and these young

people played a critical role in the first two decades of the twenty-first century.
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Asia and Africa

India

In India, youth born in the 1980s and 1990s are part of a middle class that is more

vocal in its opposition to rapist impunity and government corruption. (Youth

Activism, 2023)

The Republic of South Africa

The Soweto riots are a famous example of teenage political activity. When

instructors began teaching in Afrikaans, the language of their oppressors, children

marched to the streets in a peaceful protest. The police response was severe, and

at least 25 people were killed on June 16, 1976. The violence persisted and spread

throughout the country. 575 persons had perished and 2,389 had been injured by

the end of the year. (Youth Activism, 2023)

The Philippines

In the Philippines, youth activism has a long history. Youths were the original

founding members of both the Katipunan and the Propaganda Movement. Jose

Rizal, the country's national hero, was martyred at the age of 35. The Kabataang

Makabayan was created in 1964 to continue the revolutionary heritage of the

Katipunan against the Marcos administration. It became an underground

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organization after the proclamation of Martial Law in 1972, and it still operates

in this fashion today. Other organizations, like the League of Filipino Students,

the National Union of Students of the Philippines, the Student Christian

Movement of the Philippines, and the College Editors Guild of the Philippines,

campaigned against Martial Law. The SCMP was founded in 1960, uniting

thousands of religious youth against the Marcos administration. The LFS was

founded on September 11, 1977, as an anti-tuition-fee group. It became into a

large student organization that campaigned against the fascist rule. Around the

1960s, the NUSP dominated the student activism scene, assisting in different

student council mobilizations across the country. Leaders from these

organizations would eventually form ANAKBAYAN, a comprehensive mass

organization of Filipino youth, in 1997, combining both organizing students and

organizing youth. (Youth Activism, 2023)

The United States

In the United States, youth activism as a social phenomena was properly defined

in the mid- to late-nineteenth century, when young people began organizing labor

strikes in response to their working conditions, salaries, and hours. In 1908, Mary

Harris "Mother" Jones coordinated the first youth movement in the United States,

marching 100,000 child miners from Pennsylvania coal mines to the United

States Capitol in Washington, D.C. Young newspaper carriers quickly followed.

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As a result of these actions, the popular media of the time separated the interests

of youths from those of their modern adult labor equivalents.[Citation required]

This division persisted until the 1930s, when the American Youth Congress

presented a "Bill of Youth Rights" to the United States Congress. Their actions

reflected a developing student movement in the United States from the 1920s to

the early 1940s. The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee brought young

people into the greater civil rights movement in the 1950s; in 1959, Martin Luther

King Jr. led a protest against Bull Connor's racist law enforcement actions in

Birmingham, Alabama. Tom Hayden, Keith Hefner, and other 1960s young

activists set a tremendous example for modern youth activism in the areas of civil

rights, youth rights, and anti-war action. During this time, John Holt, Myles

Horton, and Paulo Freire were influential. This era was distinguished by youthful

life and expression. In the twenty-first century, youth activism in the United

States has transitioned to social media platforms, through which youngsters have

been able to express themselves. (Youth Activism, 2023)

Youth Activism in 21st century

Youth activism persists in the twenty-first century at the local, regional, national,

and international levels. Today's youth activists use technology and social media

platforms like Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok to throw light on

oppression and highlight issues like economic inequality, police misconduct,

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racial injustice, and much more.Youth activism has altered political engagement

through technology, resulting in a sort of active citizenry that is unique to today's

youth.The increase and accessibility of political information online has resulted

in a substantial shift in civic engagement in the United States.

2010

The Student/Farmworker Alliance collaborated with the Coalition of Immokalee

laborers (CIW) in 2010 to improve working conditions for migrant laborers in

Florida.In addition, in 2010, the student activist group United Students Against

Sweatshops successfully pushed for Nike to improve working conditions for their

Honduran workers. Their motto was a clever twist on Nike's slogan: Just Pay It.

2012

While Malala Yousafzai has been an activist for female education since 2009,

international support for her cause grew after she was shot by a Taliban sniper in

2012 as a result of her campaigning. Yousafzai has since founded a non-profit

organization and been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. She was also the driving

force behind a United Nations effort to improve children's education around the

world.
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2013

While the Black Lives Matter movement was not founded by young people, it

was founded by three young women in response to the acquittal of the man who

killed Trayvon Martin, an unarmed 17-year-old African American. In response,

the Black Youth Project 100 was founded, however participation is limited to

individuals aged 18 to 35. These two organizations have worked together, as well

as with others, to protest police shootings of unarmed black individuals.Unlike

BYP 100, Black Lives Matter has grown into an international movement with

chapters all over the world.

2016

While independent investigators have revealed the origins of the Flint Water

problem, the problem is not yet resolved because work to repair the corroded

water lines is only about one-third complete, with 7,750 of more than 22,000 lead-

contaminated water service lines to replace. Amariyanna "Mari" Copeny, an 8-

year-old Flint resident, wrote President Obama in 2016 to draw his attention to

the public health catastrophe created by the Flint Water crisis. President Barack

Obama accepted her invitation to visit Flint.Governor Rick Snyder said in April

2018 that the water quality is "within standards" and that the lead level does not
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exceed federal limits. As a result, a free bottled water program has been

discontinued.Copeny, also known as Little Miss Flint, has remained active since

then. Work to enhance the lives of young people in her community. Not only has

she raised more than $27,000 in collaboration with Pack Your Back to provide

thousands of bottled water since the government program was discontinued, but

she has also raised funds to provide 800 seats for underserved children to see

Black Panther and crowdfunded to send Flint youth to see A Wrinkle in

Time.Prior to these fundraising efforts, she assisted Pack Your Back in filling

1,000 backpacks for Flint students.

Bana al-Abed began using Twitter at the age of seven, with the help of her mother,

to relate her experiences growing up in Aleppo, Syria. Al-Abed has become a

globally recognized youth activist, having published a memoir in 2017 and being

named the Asian Awards' Rising Star of the Year. (Youth Activism, 2023)
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CONCLUSION

Contextualizing these experiences within broader trends such as the emergence

of movements societies, fan activism, and the expanding use of social media and

the Internet may help research on youth groups. For example, we know very little

about how these youth centered organizations use social media or how this may

affect young women or youth of color differently. Identifying these kind of

interventions would be difficult without the larger context of the research

presented here. Youth involvement has influenced political engagement and

activism. The emergence of "Alter-Activism" in youth activism has resulted in

greater emphasis on lived experiences and connectivity among young

activists.Young activists have taken the lead in public protest and campaigning

on a variety of causes, including climate change, abortion rights, and gun

violence. Unlike in the past, technology has formed the backbone of many of

these current youth initiatives.

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REFERENCES

Braungart, Richard G

1984a"Historical and generational patterns of youth movements: a global perspective."

In R.F. Tomasson (ed.), Comparative Social Research. Volume 7. Greenwich,

CT: JAI Press.

1984b "Historical generations and youth movements: a theoretical perspective." In

Richard E. Ratcliff (ed.), Research in Social Movements, Conflict and Change.

Volume 6. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.

BRAUNGART, R. G. (1984). HISTORICAL GENERATIONS AND GENERATION

UNITS: A GLOBAL PATTERN OF YOUTH MOVEMENTS. Journal of Political &

Military Sociology, 12(1), 113–135. http://www.jstor.org/stable/45293423

Braungart, Richard G., and M M. Braungart. "Youth Movements." Elsevier EBooks, 2001,

https://doi.org/10.1016/b0-08-043076-7/01928-8.

Youth activism. (2023, October 6). Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Youth_activism

Braungart, Richard G., and M M. Braungart. "Youth Movements." Elsevier EBooks, 2001,

https://doi.org/10.1016/b0-08-043076-7/01928-8.

Step 2 Part 2 - character card 12: Skeena Rathor - In Europe Schools - VPRO

International. https://www.vprobroadcast.com/titles/in-europe-schools/project-3-

climatechange/project-3-climate-change-st2pt2.12.html
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The power of youth activism | Key Club. (n.d.). https://www.keyclub.org/news/youth-

activism/#:~:text=Youth%20activism%20is%20a%20potent,more%20involved%20an

d%20active%20citizens.