Youth policy, civil society and the modern Irish state

Abstract

The symbolic and material treatment of youth by Irish society in general, and the institutions of Church, State and civil society more specifically, reflect broad social and cultural shifts. In a historical context, it may seem that young people's autonomy and freedom to choose has increased significantly as the Irish welfare state developed, the Church's grip on society loosened and Ireland opened up to the world. However, it is important to remember that increasing choices available to young people in terms of biographical choices, lifestyles and consumption do not necessarily imply more freedom. Young people's ability to negotiate their lives in a market society depends on multiple factors, such as economic, social and cultural capital, which remain unequally distributed. Similarly, societal anxieties about young people in the form of moral panics about youth culture and behaviour remain as valid in public and policy discourses today as ever before, perpetuating deficit constructions of young people. The authors of this national study, funded by the Irish Research Council, explore key issues in contemporary youth policy, including: the legacy of youth movements, the increased role of the State, the emergence of new forms of youth work, the targeting of young people deemed to be ‘at risk’, and the growing partnership between voluntary youth organisations and statutory agencies in the co-production of a youth work service. These issues are contextualised within an analysis of youth culture and the emergence of new definitions of ‘youth’.