The Age of Change: How Urban Youth Are Transforming African Politics

by Michelle D. Gavin

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 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.

188 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 4, 2025

Reviews

[Chad Manske · Rating 4 out of 5]

Michelle D. Gavin’s “The Age of Change: How Urban Youth Are Transforming African Politics” is a compact but far‑reaching guide to one of the most consequential political storylines of the twenty‑first century: how Africa’s young, urban, and connected citizens are reshaping power on the continent. Written in clear, nontechnical prose, it bridges academic insight and policy relevance, making it accessible to readers who follow global affairs but may not specialize in African politics. Gavin’s core claim is that four converging trends—unprecedented youth demographics, rapid urbanization, explosive digital connectivity, and the erosion of old liberation-era political narratives—are driving a new era of volatility and experimentation in African governance. She shows how a median age under twenty, combined with dense cities and smartphones, turns frustration over corruption, joblessness, and repression into large, organized movements that incumbents can no longer easily contain. The book’s strength lies in its blend of continent‑wide framing with grounded examples from countries such as Zambia and Kenya, where youth-driven, digitally coordinated campaigns have already altered political trajectories. Equally valuable is Gavin’s insistence that external powers are not the main characters in this story. She argues that the preferences and pressures of young Africans will shape policy choices in African capitals far more than great‑power competition among the United States, Russia, and China, even as those powers vie intensely for influence. This reframing pushes policymakers to stop treating African politics as a stage for distant rivalries and instead to grapple with the governance models young urban citizens are rejecting—and the alternatives they are demanding. If the book has a limitation, it is my view that readers looking for deep country case studies or thick ethnographic detail may find its 192 pages more synthetic than granular. Yet as an authoritative and highly readable overview of where African politics is heading, and why the next thirty years will not look like the last thirty, it is an important and timely contribution.

[Tove R. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a well-researched and comprehensive look at the political, social, and demographic shifts taking place in Africa and how they will affect the rest of the world. The author does an excellent job of pulling together key trends—youth demographics, urbanization, digital connectivity, and new political narratives—into a clear framework that helps readers understand the magnitude of change underway.

That said, I didn’t find myself as engaged as I’d hoped. Having traveled widely in Africa and read extensively on these issues, much of the material felt familiar, and I sensed the book is aimed more at readers who are newer to the subject. For those audiences, it offers a strong overview and many thought-provoking insights, but for me it didn’t break new ground.

A solid, informative read for anyone looking for an accessible introduction to Africa’s fast-changing political and social landscape.

[Doug Becker · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s a rare optimistic view of Africa based on the demographics of a young population. Gavin is particularly fascinated with the online communities throughout the continent. There are some interesting insights here. Most notably is the realization that the political class is so much older and disconnected with the younger generations. Africa it appears would be ripe for Gen Z protests based on an economic reality of rising population rates, stagnated economies, high unemployment rates in these nations, and a sense that the political class either doesn’t care or has no clue how to address the issues. Africa specialists will note that while Gavin reminds us that the continent is complicated and sweeping generalizations are dangerous, she employs them pretty broadly. It’s an intriguing introduction to this topic but should be complimented with specific works of regions of the continent as well.

[madison bradford · Rating 4 out of 5]

useful but wish it was a bit more specific at moments

[David Sogge · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book’s most telling remark appears not in its main chapters but in its Postscript, written in early 2025, when the Trump administration had begun to trash positive policies toward sub-Saharan Africa (along with trashing institutions of the US itself). The remark is that the US government has begun to resemble African governments. This is illustrated by Trump administration moves to hollow out the civil service, put staff loyalty ahead of competence, grant loyalists (and the Big Man himself) immunity from criminal prosecution and to stage displays of armed force and wealth. Other comparable features come to mind as well, from weak tax systems to skewed macro-economics to political rule by gerontocracies (for a book calling for more political input by younger people, that's not irrelevant). The point is that, in drawing parallels with the US, the author puts conventional prejudices about Africa in a fresh light. Bad politics aren’t unique to Africa. But its pseudo-democratic authoritarianism summons up a spectre looming large today over the United States of America.

The book's author, a veteran of the Obama years in the realm of US policy-making and promotion, offers some pointed remarks about that realm, probably with readers in and near that realm in mind, stating that “US policymakers are ill equipped” to cope with African realities, using poor lenses to see what’s happening.

She routinely pulls her punches, however, such as in playing down the real basis for African anger at US actions and inactions. She sidesteps discussion of key instruments of US leverage – the Bretton Woods Institutions, the aid industry and military/security forces – and their consequences for African public services and citizens, especially young people. Those are missed opportunities. For attention to those matters might help explain why and how US-backed policies have routinely failed to generate jobs for young people – a fundamental concern for them, and for the author, who implies, with good reason, that job creation in Africa has never been a major concern of the US or its World Bank and IMF.

The author notes other US missteps, such as in the case of Zambia. The US failed to help the country reach a deal on its debt, and further failed to move policy beyond HIV-AIDS to boost job creation, the chief priority for Zambians. Other shortcomings, such on curbing illicit financial flows to offshore circuits protected by the US, go unmentioned.

She warns against “hazards of relying on elite relationships” and advocates “more diplomatic attention to African societies—not just governments”. Sound advice. But it isn’t easy to square that with a plea to engage with Africans in the pinstriped lobbies of the African Union headquarters.

For me the category “youth” seems too slippery or amorphous to explain politics convincingly – even where a demographic bulge and mass politics loom large. Categorizations (and self-attributions) along lines of gender, race, class, ethnicity, religious persuasion, et cetera can usually bear more analytical weight. But this book’s accounts of youth activism in cyberspace and in the streets remind us of needs to factor age and generational struggles into our explanations.
[ review posted 10 September 2025 ]