Youth identities along the Eastern border of the European Union

Abstract

In this paper we explore what it means to be young and live in a border region, one which demarcates the European Union from its ascendant nations/states. By analysing interviews with members of the young generation, we will focus on the ways in which these young people deal with this particular geopolitical situation. In particular, we examine the young generation's narratives regarding their home community and the possibilities which are offered to them. We will illustrate four different constructions: being entrapped in non-stimulating homes, excursions from home, home as a place of retreat and security, the best of two homes.

Opportunity and uncertainty: young people's narratives of ‘double transition’ in post-socialist Poland

“…What is significant, however, is the psychological impact the collapse of socialism appears to have had on expectations and imaginations of mobility for a significant part of the young population of Poland. Transition, and later EU accession, not only widened the geographical horizons of the respondents, but were also narrated as part of the same process, as an almost inevitable move towards an increased and much anticipated ability to travel, westwards, across Europe, allowing future opportunities to be envisioned outside of the country perhaps even more easily than within it (see Hipfl et al . 2003, 837).…”

Becoming mobile and growing up: A “generationed” perspective on borderland mobilities, youth, and the household

“…Yet it has received relatively little scholarly attention in the quickly growing body of work on young people's mobilities (Ní Laoire, White, & Skelton, ) and has largely been omitted from the Southeast Asian borderland studies literature (exceptions would include Lan, ; Rungmanee, ). In contrast to borderland studies elsewhere (Chiu & Choi, ; Christou & Spyrou, ; Hipfl et al, ; Marques da Silva, ; Spyrou & Christou, ), this renders the Southeast Asian literature largely adult centric.…”

“…Yet it has received relatively little scholarly attention in the quickly growing body of work on young people's mobilities (Ní Laoire, White, & Skelton, 2017) and has largely been omitted from the Southeast Asian borderland studies literature (exceptions would include Lan, 2012;Rungmanee, 2016b). In contrast to borderland studies elsewhere (Chiu & Choi, 2018;Christou & Spyrou, 2012;Hipfl et al, 2003;Marques da Silva, 2014;Spyrou & Christou, 2014a) Situating young people's everyday cross-border mobility in relation to the household and other mobility options has also highlighted some ramifications for understanding safety in relation to longer distance and longer duration migration by young people. Because crossborder day labour is organised through ethnic Lao networks, village youth from settler households, and especially those who are non-Buddhist and belong to ethnic minority populations, are less likely to get involved in this relatively lucrative practice, whereas for youth from original households, cross-border day labour constitutes a fairly safe initial set of experiences of working in Thailand.…”

“…Within the emerging body of literature on child and youth migration (Beazley, ; Huijsmans, ), relatively little attention is paid to children and young people's everyday cross‐border mobility (exceptions include Hipfl, Bister, & Strohmaier, ; Marques da Silva, ; Lan & Huijsmans, ; Chiu & Choi, ). This is surprising.…”

Ambiguous Identities at the Rhine border

“…In-group and out-group constructions are continuously re-negotiated. As exemplified above, this happens within families, but more disturbingly, cutting across generational patterns (thus in contradiction to Hipfl et al 2003;Meinhof 2004). Out-grouping strategies from younger participants with only French nationality were barely more likely than their parents' to be based on supranational and national identification.…”