Call for Papers: Beyond Borders : Youth, Politics and New Solidarities in Post-Covid South Asia

Editor: Prateek Srivastava, University of Cincinnati

​​It has frequently been stated during the COVID-19 pandemic that ‘no one is safe until we are all safe’. This is most commonly talked of between nations, but, importantly, it  applies within various communities which don't see any borders. Youth in various parts of the world  have exemplified solidarity in times as everyone  struggles to find common ground. Young people demonstrated solidarity, successfully coordinated among themselves, cooperated to share and allocate resources, and leveraged regional governance arrangements. The shifts established by young people through various forms of solidarities are  bound to influence patterns of thinking and doing in a post-COVID era.  Now as we leave the pandemic behind, and work step out of it, we have created several ‘new’ solidarities to build back better, and take inspiration from. Political institutions and systems around the world need to absorb the central lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic, based on the experience of young people that have responded and subsequent challenges through their activism. The principles of solidarity should be embedded in any new pandemic governance instrument, and parties should be convened regularly to review progress, encourage accountability and reinforce solidarity norms. Keeping these newly built scenarios at the forefront, this edited collection will critically analyze various forms of new solidarities and transformations in post-covid South Asia. 

We are interested in contributions that draw on, thoroughly research and empirical work on topics related to, but not limited to, the following: 

• Social structure and inequality

• Identity and social media and the internet

• Political participation, mobilization 

• Political Activism in South Asia 

• Transnational Solidarity Networks

• Youth and policy challenges

• Politics and Digital movements 

• New forms of political resistance 

• Social and Cognitive Justice

We encourage proposals from diverse multidisciplinary perspectives, including the arts, media, political science, gender studies, performance, textual criticism, legal studies, religious studies, sociology, etc. Scholars from underrepresented communities , and those at their earlier stage of their careers ( especially graduate students) will be prioritized in the selection process.

Interested authors should send their name, affiliation, and an abstract (300-350 words) to: srivaspe@mail.uc.edu. The deadline for consideration is May 31. Based on accepted papers, a special issue proposal will be submitted to the Routledge Book Series – Academics, Politics and Society in the Post-Covid World, edited by Prof. Lewis Gordon, Prof. Rozena Maart, Dr. Epifania Amoo-Adare and Dr. Sayan Dey.

Timeline:  Accepted authors will be notified by mid-June. Full papers will be expected by October 31 2022.A virtual workshop will be arranged in November 2022. Please send any questions to: srivape@mail.uc.edu