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Paper short abstract

Ghanaian youth, often described as trapped in waithood, act as boundary actors across local, national, and global arenas. Through activism, digital networks, and transnational engagement, they negotiate power, challenge or reproduce development hierarchies, and reshape social and political futures.

Paper long abstract

African youth are often described as trapped in waithood — a liminal stage between education, employment, and adult autonomy. While this framing highlights structural challenges, it risks portraying young people as passive bystanders. This paper argues that Africa youth are better understood as boundary actors, actively navigating local, national, and transnational arenas to shape social, political, and normative change.

Based on planned fieldwork in Ghana (Feb 2026), including semi-structured interviews with youth activists, analysis of organizational communications, and digital ethnography, the study explores how youth: (1) create alternative civic spaces through protests, art, music, and grassroots organizing; (2) build transnational connections that influence identity, access to resources, and engagement with global movements on climate justice, racial equity, and decolonisation; and (3) circulate ideas, norms, and practices across borders, linking local activism to global debates on accountability, governance, and development.

By centering youth experiences in Ghana, this paper reconceptualizes waithood not as passive waiting but as a strategic, liminal negotiation of power, opportunity, and knowledge. It critically examines whether these boundary practices challenge entrenched global development hierarchies or reproduce them in new forms. Ultimately, the study contributes to debates on decolonising development and global governance, showing how Ghanaian youth act as conscious citizens and transboundary actors, shaping the social, political, and normative futures of their societies today.