Youth employment and political representation in Africa, case studies in Uganda, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia and Mozambique

This project is led by the Chr. Michelsen Institute (Norway) in collaboration with IDS and funded by NorGlobal. IDS Research fellow Dr Marjoke Oosterom leads the case study in Zimbabwe and the research uptake strategy.

The project focuses on how the ‘born free’ generation of youth perceives and interacts with the generation that holds power. Of all regions, sub-Saharan Africa has the highest proportion of youth. Yet its political regimes are led by aging politicians, many of whom have been in power since the end of the liberation wars of the 1970s to 1990s.

This project starts with the conundrum that yesterday’s rebels have become elderly power-holders, while the majority of the population is now born after these seminal struggles. What happens in the encounters between these regimes and the large youth cohorts? We will look at two policy areas, youth employment and youth representation (through quota, youth institutions) in order to better understand the regime-youth interaction. When are such policies empowering the youth, when do they bind youth in patronage relationships and when do they reinforce marginalization?

The project will study this in Ethiopia, Mozambique, Uganda and Zimbabwe. The project will last from 2019-2022.

Resources

Opinion pieces

Policy briefs

• The risk of authoritarian renewal in Zimbabwe: Understanding ZANU-PF youth
  (Marjoke Oosterom, Simbarashe Gukurume)
• Poorly designed youth employment programmes will boost the insurgency in Mozambique
  (Aslak Orre, Salvador Forquilha)
• Jobs for youth in fragile transitions: Ethiopia’s Youth Revolving Fund
  (Asnake Kefale, Lovise Aalen, Mohammed Dejen)
• Moving Uganda’s national development planning to the grassroots: What’s in it for youth?
  (Gerald Karyeija, Ragnhild Muriaas)
• Shutting down social media, shutting out the youth?
  (Pauline Lemaire)

Webinar – Youth Employment and Political Representation in Africa