Language: English

From Bangladesh to Nepal, Morocco to Peru, Gen Z-led uprisings have reshaped the political landscape across the Global South.

If certain forecasts are to be believed, Africa’s population growth augurs a future of war and societal collapse. But for some governments and NGOs, the “youth bulge” driving growth could, if instrumentalised through neoliberal processes, generate huge economic dividends. Missing from the conversation are the voices and aspirations of young Africans themselves. 

Across the Middle East, millions of migrant workers sustain entire economies while remaining legally dependent on their employers through the kafala system.

The way societies measure and imagine populations profoundly shapes which futures become politically possible.

Faced with increasing vulnerabilities, Eastern European states are trying to bring their citizens back from abroad. 

As falling birth rates and longer lives shrink the working-age population, tighter labour markets will become the new normal.

For John Wall, the ballot box is for anyone who wishes to have a say – children included.

Amid stubbornly low birth rates, Polish women are bearing the brunt of public pressure for the country’s population panic.

Fanni Svégel on attempts to engineer a baby boom that never came – and their harmful effects on women.

For Jörg Tremmel and Lena Winzer, committing to the future can expand democratic possibilities.