Special Issue: Introduction to Imperial Youth

Abstract This special issue investigates the nexus between empires and youth by addressing different forms of socialization, possibilities of life and career prospects, and representations of belonging. Long considered by historiography to be a prerogative of nationalism and nation-states, recent studies have begun to argue that new images and modes of mobilization centered on youth were propelled by imperialism, colonialism, and their politics of difference. The articles in this issue build on this trend by offering insights into Eurasian empires (the Ottoman, Romanov, and Habsburg states), the French colonial empire, and Fascist Italy. The objects they analyze range from premilitary training for teenagers to colonialist student associations and magazines for emigrants’ children. Together, they argue for a more connected history that brings together the study of empires as large and diverse political systems, the lived experiences and life trajectories of youth, and the media depictions shaping belonging, loyalty, and activism. Empires are particularly fitting to study how ideas and practices travel, interact, and change, often adapting preexisting models to local or regional specificities, while youth help us discuss how the political and socioeconomic transformation of modern empires shaped the lives and ideas of their populations. In discussing these circulations, the special issue shows how empires aimed to appropriate the potential of youth mobilization and functioned as a reference for initiatives and ideas elaborated by the youth themselves. In all cases, however, this mutual attraction also revealed the structural limits hampering empire-wide activities, such as gender, social and ethno-confessional distinctions, difficulties linked to channeling a highly volatile life stage into long-term projects, and the cleavage between public and intimate experiences.