Overview

An approachable guide to the political, social, and demographic changes happening in Africa and why they matter for the rest of the world. Africa is undergoing an astounding transformation that will usher in a new era of political volatility and experimentation in the coming years. The region is in the midst of a historically unprecedented demographic surge that has skewed the median age in most countries to below twenty years old. This demographic moment coincides with three factors likely to amplify the political agendas of African youth: rapid urbanization, dramatically increased digital connectivity, and increasing recognition that old political narratives are no longer fit for purpose. Michelle D. Gavin argues that these clear trends will result in an increase in political volatility. Anti-government movements will continue to find new expression, incumbents will be more vulnerable, honeymoon periods for new leaders will be shorter, and transfers of power and leadership will be more frequent. Citizens frustrated by the status quo will show more willingness to experiment with different forms of government and different external partnerships, all with significant implications for those hoping for a global democratic resurgence. This book explores growing dissatisfaction and desire for change as the political through line emerging on a diverse continent, and illuminates some of the frustrated, defiant, and often humorous pan-African political conversations underway among young, politically engaged populations. What is coming will be dramatically different from the period of political stagnation that has characterized the past two decades in the region, and that also means that major powers like the United States, Russia, and China that are competing for influence in the region will have to change the way they do business.

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9781538194584

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Reviews

Michelle Gavin gives us a highly readable but carefully documented insight into the emerging political role of the youth in countries across Africa. Her analysis, including the fascinating use of social media information, illustrates the role this phenomenon may play in the future of Africa and its impact on the world. * Russ Feingold, former U.S. Senator (Wisconsin) and Special Envoy for the African Great Lakes * Michelle Gavin combines a policymaker's view, a traveler’s curiosity, and an abiding empathy. She has written the rare book that blends together deep research, high-level experience, and a capacity to look at the world through the eyes of young people. The Age of Change is filled with rich detail about Africa’s emerging importance, its ongoing challenges, and the youth who will inevitability shape the future of the continent and the wider world. Read this book if you want to understand African politics and the internal and external forces remaking it. * Ben Rhodes, former Deputy National Security Advisor of the United States and author of After the Fall: The Rise of Authoritarianism in the World We Made * This is a must-read book for a forward-looking analysis of African politics, and what an increasingly youthful, digitally-connected, and urban-based population will mean for disrupting status quo political regimes. Awareness of the driving forces of such political change and discontinuity suggests new approaches for external powers who wish to build effective relationships—cultivating broader networks with a more diverse set of stakeholders in society and focusing on shared interests with societies rather than a narrow set of elite powerholders. By centering the demands, concerns, and strategies of engagement of young Africans, this book provides a clear view of changes on the horizon, and how foreign policy can adapt to meet the next generation. * Rachel Beatty Riedl, Director of the Center on Global Democracy, Brooks School of Public Policy, Cornell University *

Michelle Gavin gives us a highly readable but carefully documented insight into the emerging political role of the youth in countries across Africa. Her analysis, including the fascinating use of social media information, illustrates the role this phenomenon may play in the future of Africa and its impact on the world. * Russ Feingold, former U.S. Senator (Wisconsin) and Special Envoy for the African Great Lakes *

Michelle Gavin gives us a highly readable but carefully documented insight into the emerging political role of the youth in countries across Africa. Her analysis, including the fascinating use of social media information, illustrates the role this phenomenon may play in the future of Africa and its impact on the world. * Russ Feingold, former U.S. Senator (Wisconsin) and Special Envoy for the African Great Lakes * Michelle Gavin combines a policymaker's view, a traveler’s curiosity, and an abiding empathy. She has written the rare book that blends together deep research, high-level experience, and a capacity to look at the world through the eyes of young people. Age of Change is filled with rich detail about Africa’s emerging importance, its ongoing challenges, and the youth who will inevitability shape the future of the continent and the wider world. Read this book if you want to understand African politics and the internal and external forces remaking it. * Ben Rhodes, former Deputy National Security Advisor of the United States and author of After the Fall: The Rise of Authoritarianism in the World We Made * This is a must-read book for a forward-looking analysis of African politics, and what an increasingly youthful, digitally-connected, and urban-based population will mean for disrupting status quo political regimes. Awareness of the driving forces of such political change and discontinuity suggests new approaches for external powers who wish to build effective relationships—cultivating broader networks with a more diverse set of stakeholders in society and focusing on shared interests with societies rather than a narrow set of elite powerholders. By centering the demands, concerns, and strategies of engagement of young Africans, this book provides a clear view of changes on the horizon, and how foreign policy can adapt to meet the next generation. * Rachel Beatty Riedl, Director of the Center on Global Democracy, Brooks School of Public Policy, Cornell University *

Author Information

Michelle D. Gavin is the Ralph Bunche Senior Fellow for Africa Policy Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). She has over twenty years of experience in international affairs in government and non-profit roles. She was formerly the managing director of The Africa Center, a multidisciplinary institution dedicated to increasing understanding of contemporary Africa. From 2011 to 2014 she was the U.S. ambassador to Botswana and served concurrently as the U.S. representative to the Southern African Development Community (SADC). Prior to serving as Ambassador, Gavin was a special assistant to President Obama and the senior director for Africa at the National Security Council, where she led major policy reviews of Sudan and Somalia and helped to originate the Young African Leaders Initiative, a U.S. government effort intended to deepen policymakers’ understanding of young African priorities. Gavin is the author of numerous articles and discussion papers, and she writes regularly for CFR’s Africa in Transition blog. She received an MPhil in international relations from Oxford University, where she was a Rhodes Scholar, and earned her BA from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, where she was a Truman Scholar. She serves on the board of directors of Points of Light and Emerging Public Leaders. Gavin is based in New York City.

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