COVID-19 Update on Its Relationship to Aging, Active Aging, and Intergenerational Conflict in Europe

Scientific and political debates perceive aging as an unavoidable situation that leads to conflict between older and younger generations. The last 10 years in particular have seen a clear trend in Europe with older people doing well largely due to the younger generation, and this has increased the i...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Burcu Çağla Ayabakan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Istanbul University Press 2022-12-01
Series:Sosyal Siyaset Konferansları Dergisi
Subjects:
Online Access:https://cdn.istanbul.edu.tr/file/JTA6CLJ8T5/43C5B60567524D3B96A1F0E0937C2329
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Scientific and political debates perceive aging as an unavoidable situation that leads to conflict between older and younger generations. The last 10 years in particular have seen a clear trend in Europe with older people doing well largely due to the younger generation, and this has increased the intergenerational conflict. This study examines the indicators for intergenerational conflict in Europe in order to assess the relationships between intergenerational conflict and aging and between intergenerational conflict and active aging policies. Lastly, the article seeks answers to questions such as “Does conflict exist between the interests of the younger and older generations in Europe?”, “Does conflict increase as populations age?”, “Can active aging policies moderate conflict?”, and “Has COVID-19 increased intergenerational conflict in Europe?” with regard to the impact COVID-19 has had in terms of the extent of the intergenerational conflict. Evidence from the literature indicates that an intergenerational conflict exists in Europe and that this intergenerational conflict weakens as older people become more actively involved in life and visible in society. On the other hand, the pandemic has increased the presence and visibility of the conflict of interests between the old and young generations. This article brings the perspective of COVID-19 to the relationship between intergenerational conflict and aging, which has been examined theoretically through various studies in the literature, and takes the current discussions one step further in this respect.
ISSN:1304-0103
2548-0405