Lovise Aalen
Research Professor, CMIPolitical scientist focusing on democracy, governance and women's employment and empowement in the Horn of Africa
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A joint initiative between the University of Bergen
and CMI – Chr. Michelsen Institute
Youth, autocracy and illiberalism: perspectives from Africa and Europe
13.11.2024
08:30 - 09:30English
In both Africa and Europe youth are underrepresented in politics and disproportionately affected by unemployment and limited future prospects.
Photo: Yingchou Han / Unsplash Africa boasts the youngest population globally, while Europe faces an aging demographic with a growing share of senior citizens. Despite these differences, both continents share a common challenge: youth are underrepresented in politics and disproportionately affected by unemployment and limited future prospects.
In Africa, youth-led protests since the Arab Spring have coincided with increasing autocratization. Meanwhile, Europe witnesses a rise in illiberal political ideas, also among young people, driven by the growth of right-wing parties.
This seminar will delve into the experiences of demographic change and youth politics in Egypt, Sudan, Zimbabwe, and various European contexts.
The conversation is led by Lovise Aalen (CMI), and includes Dina Wahba (Freie Universität), Hamid Kalafallah (University of Manchester), Simbarashe Gukurume (Sol Plaatje University) and Jana Birke Belschner (UiB).
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Event info.
Bergen GlobalJekteviksbakken 31, Bergen
13.11.2024
08:30 - 09:30
English
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Dina Wahba
Postdoctoral Researcher, Freie Universität, BerlinDina Wahba is a political scientist and feminist scholar. Her research interests include intersectionality, construction of masculinities between Europe and the Middle East, protest movements in the Middle East as well as transnational political solidarity movements.
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Hamid Kalafallah
PhD candidate, University of ManchesterHamid is a PhD candidate at the Global Development Institute (GDI) at the University of Manchester in the UK, researching democratic transitions and grassroots movements in Africa.
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Simbarashe Gukurume
Senior Lecturer, Sol Plaatje University (ZA)Simbarashe Gukurume is a Social Scientist with training in, and working at the intersections of Sociology and Social Anthropology.
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Jana Birke Belschner
Researcher, University of BergenJana Belschner is a Researcher at the Institute of Comparative Politics. Her research is positioned at the intersection of political behaviour, political representation, and political economy.
Read moreLovise Aalen
Research Professor, CMI
Political scientist focusing on democracy, governance and women's employment and empowement in the Horn of Africa
Lovise Aalen has researched Ethiopian politics for the last two decades. She has focused on the implementation of ethnic federalism, the EPRDF’s ideas of revolutionary democracy and the developmental state, regime-youth interactions, and female political participation in authoritarian contexts.
Dina Wahba
Postdoctoral Researcher, Freie Universität, Berlin
Dina Wahba is a political scientist and feminist scholar. Her research interests include intersectionality, construction of masculinities between Europe and the Middle East, protest movements in the Middle East as well as transnational political solidarity movements.
Dr. Wahba received her PhD in political science from Freie Universität, Berlin where she worked as a research associate at the DFG funded project Affective Societies. Dr. Wahba´s recently published book is entitled “Counter revolutionary Egypt from the Midan to the neighbourhood” (Routledge 2023).
She is a recipient of the Chevening Scholarship, she completed her M.A. degree in Gender Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London. Her published thesis is entitled “Gendering the Egyptian Revolution” (Palgrave 2016).
Dina Wahba received her B.A. in Political Science from the Faculty of Economics and Political Science, Cairo University.
Hamid Kalafallah
PhD candidate, University of Manchester
Hamid is a PhD candidate at the Global Development Institute (GDI) at the University of Manchester in the UK, researching democratic transitions and grassroots movements in Africa.
Hamid Khalafallah is a former Nonresident Fellow at TIMEP focusing on inclusive governance and mobilization in Sudan. He is a development practitioner, researcher, and policy analyst.
Over the years, he has worked for various international and national organizations in Sudan on governance and development issues. Hamid is an alumnus of the Young African Leaders Program of the School of Transnational Governance at the European University Institute in Italy.
He holds an MA in International Development Management from the University of Bradford in the UK, where he studied as a Chevening Scholar and was awarded the 2019 UK Development Studies Association best dissertation prize. In his free time, Hamid has been active with various civil resistance groups in Sudan, promoting democracy and advocating for human rights.
You can follow him on Twitter at @HamidMurtada.
Simbarashe Gukurume
Senior Lecturer, Sol Plaatje University (ZA)
Simbarashe Gukurume is a Social Scientist with training in, and working at the intersections of Sociology and Social Anthropology.
Simbarashe is a senior lecturer at Sol Plaatje University, Kimberly, South Africa. Prior to joining Sol Plaatje University, Simbarashe was a lecturer and faculty research chairperson at Great Zimbabwe University.
Simbarashe holds a PhD from the University of Cape Town, South Africa. His Masters in Sociology and Social Anthropology as well as BSc in Sociology were obtained from the University of Zimbabwe.
Jana Birke Belschner
Researcher, University of Bergen
Jana Belschner is a Researcher at the Institute of Comparative Politics. Her research is positioned at the intersection of political behaviour, political representation, and political economy.
She researches how demography affects elections and policy, with a focus on youth’s political participation and the political representation of young and future generations’ interests. Jana has expertise in the empirical analysis of the causes and effects of electoral reforms, such as electoral quotas and youth enfranchisement, and has researched these topics across Western Europe and North Africa.
In 2023, Jana was awarded a Trond Mohn Starting Grant for the project “Representing the Future in an Aging Europe. The Politics of Demographic Change”. The project will run from June 2024 to May 2028.
Bergen Global is a joint initiative between the University of Bergen and Chr. Michelsen Institute that addresses global challenges.
