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Gr8 Xpectations: Youth and Youth Cultures in the Middle East
Barbara Petzen
Middle East Policy Council
Aspects of Youth Culture
Seen as both in danger and dangerous by insiders and outsiders
Demographics Space Consumer Culture Sex, Drugs, Rock and Roll (and Sufi Cool) Politics
Youth as the Future
Children seen as the future of the country
Schools cultivate ardent nationalism (as in USA)
The economic, political, social future of the nation
Youth as the Threat
Leftist student violence in Turkey 1970s
Revolutionary fervor in Iran 1979
Seen as vulnerable recruits to Islamist groups
Victimized or violent? Disenfranchised or
decadent?
Demographic Trends
High youth populations: 60% under 24; Iran 70% born since 1979; Egypt 33% 14 and under; Yemen 66% under 25, 20% 15-24
Education leads to
higher aspirations
High unemployment– 85-90% unemployment among youth– Worst among most educated
– Class divide
The Young Middle East
Source: UN Population Division, World Population Prospects: The 2006 Revision (2007), www.esa.un.org/unpp.
Percentage of Population Aged 15-24 (2005)
Urbanization: Turkey
The Turkish population increased 5 times from 1927 to 2000.
It multiplied by 3 between 1945 and 1990, whereas urban population increased 7 times.
*“urban”= territories with a population over 10,000
Turkey (total)
Urban Turkey Istanbul
1927 13 648 270 3 305 879 806 863
1945 18 790 174 4 687 102 1 078 399
2000 67 803 927 44 006 274 10 018 735
Kustepe* youth survey
More than half declare that they are unhappy with their life:
57% explain their difficulties by unemployment or by precariousness of their work conditions
52% by lack of formal education 42% by poverty
* Low-income neighborhood in Istanbul
Case Study: Iran
Demographic problems as result of own successful and unsuccessful policies
70% of population born after 1979
Successful in encouraging people to have lots of babies during Iran-Iraq war—5.6% TFR (Total Fertility Rate) 80-88
Then started new national family planning program, with birth control counseling mandatory before marriage
Brought TFR down to 2.5%
Case Study: Iran
Youth literacy 94%, higher for girls
Only 10% accepted to university
Serious drug problem
Unemployment 11-16%, much higher for youth
Politically active--15-18 year olds instrumental in 2001 election of Khatemi--some disillusionment; big youth support for Mousavi in 2009
Case Study: Egypt
44.4% in “poverty tunnel”—cannot or can just fulfill basic calorie needs, or add basic non-food expenses
10% unemployment, 87.2 percent of the unemployed are between the ages of 15 and 29, unemployment among college graduates 10 times higher than non-graduates
Food prices going up
Where does this lead?
Where does this lead?
Youth Spaces
Real and virtual Class differentiation Corner vs. Campus
spaces The basement and the
street The mall
Iranian youth culture
Cultural encounters in urban Turkey
Emergence of new money with economic transformations
“Fear of falling” of the old middle classes A discourse of derision and scornfulness
toward newcomers in Istanbul: creation of the “maganda”
Class and Spatial Differentiation
Differentiation and distancing among youth as a result of socio-economic and cultural transformations
Erhan (20) is originally from Siirt. His parents first moved to Aydin than to Istanbul. He is working on Istiklal Street, selling corn in summer and chestnuts in winter. He is living in one of the distant gecekondu areas and his main contact with the city center is his work. (Radikal, July 2007)
Cem (19) and Can (19), in the Radar Live Festival at Kilyos Beach. (Radikal, July 2007)
1990s : Socio-spatial fragmentation in Istanbul
Rapid suburbanisation– Gated communities in the urban
periphery in conflict for land with gecekondu zones (urban regeneration projects)
Inner city :– Gentrification– Slummification
Shopping malls: new public spaces & consumption temples
Olivium shopping mall, ZeytinburnuBahçesehir residential complex, Büyükçekmece
Urban skate culture and beyond
The new, the proud, the cool Brownbookmag.com (online urban guide to the
Middle East)
The Street Corner/Corniche/Club
Elite aspirations: New Dubai opera house
Architecture = international cool
Virtual spaces
Virtual space
The Blogosphere in the Middle East: Global Voices
Baghdad Burning: Girl Blog from Iraq Dalia Ziyada: human rights activist in Egypt Twitter @Sandmonkey Mahmoud Salem Mustafa Naggar: Islamist blogger in Egypt 100,000 blogs in Farsi: English language
Iranian blogs at http://www.iraniansblogs.com/
Virtual space
Consumer Culture
Globalized media Conspicuous
consumption Pop music “clips” International brands Tech cool Not the same as
secular--can be Islamic chic as well
Beirut consumer culture
Café culture
Dubai: A Whole New World
Islamic haute couture
Life Ads Coke
Nancy Ajram Coke ad http://www.youtube.co
m/watch?v=35O3udLS83Y
Parody Coke ad http://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGvXpJjqLWc&feature=related
Communications Revolution
Egypt: Landline phones: 10.3 million
Cell phones: 55.4 million Internet users: 20.1
million state-run TV operates 2
national and 6 regional terrestrial networks as well as a few satellite channels; about 20 private satellite channels and a large number of Arabic satellite channels
Sex, Drugs, Rock and Roll
Youth exchange cell phone numbers by Bluetooth
Exchange pictures Surreptitious dating—
sex is political Cell phones, Facebook
and the Blog
Sex, Drugs, Rock and Roll
In Lebanon, many young men emigrate for jobs in the Gulf
The ratio of unmarried young women to men is said to be 5:1
Great competition amongst women for men visiting home from Gulf to find marriage partners
'They live in a culture where they are supposed to be educated, to work and be pretty,' Khalaf said. 'They have to be sexually attractive but not sexually active and they will do anything to grab a guy's attention.’
Sex, Drugs, Rock and Roll
Youth may be less attracted to state-sponsored religious forms, but that doesn’t mean they are not spiritual or religious themselves—a new “Sufi cool” is apparent across the region
Mercan Dede http://www.mercandede.com/EN/
Mohsen Namjoo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rgt5hzMvCI
Sami Yusuf: Islamic pop
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5GpBG-k9tk&feature=related
O-Hum: Darvish
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeN4kfBPx1k
Kiosk : Love for Speed (subtitles)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oi0egvuCRCo
Junoon: Dosti
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DD59l0e5krY
Sex, Drugs, Rock and Roll
Hich-Kas: Bunch of Soldiers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QU1NNAH6b_g
Hoba Hoba Spirit: El Caid Motorhead
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIXCI9lmaho
Arthimoth Iranian death metal
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNav2lzd-TQ
Palestinian Rapperz Ya Sayedati
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciVGfB0L3u8
Egypt: Arabian Knights with Lauryn Hill
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z696QHAbMIA
Politics
Disillusionment with politics as usual
Politics through music Use of new forms
(Young Civilians) New spheres of actions
(BGL, environment) Many protests leading
up to the “Arab Spring”
Environmental Activism
The Cedar Revolution
“Freedom’s children”
1990s and 2000s: rapid individualization of youth
An “actively unpolitical” younger generation rejecting traditional ways of politics
Ex. Young Civilians’ Democracy Class and miniaturk visit as a reaction to recent interventions of the army to the politics
New multiculturalism
After Hrant Dink assassination
We are all Armenian Mass
demonstrations
New Youth Protests
Wellsprings of the “Arab Spring”
Not just about Facebook and Twitter—why did they play the role they played? Demographic issues key: youth bulge, unemployment, housing Corruption (economic, political, judicial, internal security), illegitimacy of political leaders (resistance to attempts to make non-monarchical dynasties permanent) Poverty (income disparity) Discrimination Overcoming psychological barrier of fear of regime, fear that things can indeed get worse (that’s not fatalism)
Lessons of the “Arab Spring”
It’s not all about religion, despite our stereotypes Islam is not seen as something old/outdated, seen as positive alternative to corrupt secular regimes People have very modern aspirations, admire both our freedoms and our technology Democracy is important to people, but so is stability—both economic and political Elections aren’t enough, aren’t democracy Institution building in judiciary, political infrastructure, business will take time