African Youth in Focus: Realizing the African Union’s politics of November

Abstract

After two decades of an academic and policy focus on the demographic “challenges” prompted by a growing youth population in Africa, young people are still being presented as problematic and their grievances and active political participation are often met with repression. A recent initiative by the African Union seeks to renew the focus on youth development, and, ostensibly, realize the potential of the 900 million people under the age of 35 on the continent. Despite the widespread policy speak of inclusion and rights evident in both AU and other state and non-state interventions, the active political participation of African youth is often restricted through various forms of state securitization.