A European Youth Revolt ― European Perspectives on Youth Protest and Social Movements in the 1980s

During the early 1980s, large parts of Europe were swept with riots and youth revolts. Radicalised young people occupied buildings and clashed with the police in cities such as Zurich, Berlin and Amsterdam, while in Great Britain and France, 'migrant' youths protested fiercely against their underprivileged position and police brutality. Was there a link between the youth revolts in different European cities, and if so, how were they connected and how did they influence each other? These questions are central in this volume.

This book covers case studies from countries in both Eastern and Western Europe and focuses not only on political movements such as squatting, but also on political subcultures such as punk, as well as the interaction between them. In doing so, it is the first historical collection with a transnational and interdisciplinary perspective on youth, youth revolts and social movements in the 1980s.

Knud Andresen is Research Associate at the Forschungsstelle fur Zeitgeschichte in Hamburg, Germany. His research focuses on the history of work and the workers movement in Germany, youth and the New Left. His most recent publications include: Triumpherzahlungen. Wie Gewerkschafterinnen und Gewerkschafter uber ihre Erinnerungen sprechen (2015); ed. with Linde Apel and Kirsten Heinsohn: Es gilt das gesprochene Wort. Oral History und Zeitgeschichte heute (2015); and ed. with Ursula Bitzegeio and Jurgen Mittag: Nach dem Strukturbruch? Kontinuitat und Wandel von Arbeitsbeziehungen und Arbeits(welten) seit den 1970er Jahren (2011).

Bart van der Steen is Lecturer at Leiden University's Institute of History, Netherlands. His research focuses on interwar labor movements and New Social Movements from 1968 to the present. His most recent publications include: ed. with L. van Hoogenhuijze and A. Katzeff; The City is Ours: Squatting and Autonomous Movements in Europe from the 1970s to the Present (2014) and with R. Blom; Een banier waar geen smet op rust: Geschiedenis van de trotskistische beweging in Nederland (2015).