Youth Bulge

Narottam Gaan
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Narottam Gaan: Professor of Political Science and International Studies, P.G. Department of Political Science, Utkal University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha.

India Quarterly: A Journal of International Affairs, 2015, vol. 71, issue 1, 16-36

Abstract: With the end of Cold War the relative dominance of the military–political notion of security plummeted reflecting the widespread recognition of the sources of security being diversified away from the centre stage, that is, the state. In recent years what have catapulted into the centre stage of both policy and strategic thinking are the environmental apocalypse, poverty, economic decline and other social crisis of identity, drug and human trafficking and politics of racism, minority, human rights and feminist indignation and population age structure brushing aside the political–military construct of security hovered around state and its apparatus to the fringe. Out of all these non-traditional security threats population age structure stands preeminent in view of its impact on stability and liberal democratic character of a state. The very word people is no longer a homogenous term. If the number of youths of a particular age group surpasses the other age groups in a nation it has serious implications on its security, and political stability. This is termed as ‘youth bulge’ which can turn into violence and civil war in case of failure of the state in providing them jobs, education and economic sustenance. This article explains how youth bulge in Afghanistan can greatly affect its transition to liberal democracy in the context of American withdrawal from Afghanistan and failure of the government to address the socio-economic challenges the people face in the society. When state fails as a constitutional and institutional device to meet all these challenges, slipping into the hands of Taliban which provides better economic prospects can become a fait accompli. Then the devil is easily identified in the demography. The stranglehold of America on Taliban seems to be waning with its decision to withdraw and involvement of Taliban in the peace talk. This will aggravate the situation further in Afghanistan as its youth bulge is very much disenchanted with the existing socio-economic landscape casting a shadow over its stability and transition to democracy.

Keywords: Westphalian tradition; youth bulge; gender discrimination; Taliban; drug use and drug trafficking; Afghan spring; relative cohort size; youth insurgency; demographic sibling (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:indqtr:v:71:y:2015:i:1:p:16-36

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