Negative representations of young people as ‘troublemakers,’ ‘idle’ or ‘politically disinterested’ have been commonplace. More recently, newer representations include seemingly positive labels such as ‘change agent,’ ‘politically engaged’ and ‘youth entrepreneurs.’ This essay explores the politics of representing young people, particularly in the Global South, and highlights how young people are represented by political elites and how they represent themselves. The central argument is that the neoliberal development model promotes representations of young people that do not best serve their interests. Stuart Hall’s work is used to understand how these representations conceal the chasm between contemporary discourses such as that of the ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution,’ ‘Youth participation’ and ‘Sustainability,’ and the lived experiences of young people in Southern contexts. Hall’s theory of representations also highlights the politics operating between dominant discourses aimed at coopting so-called subordinate groups into a shared consensus, and the possibilities of disrupting that consensus.
