Transforming the Anxieties of Ageing: Framings and Politics of Demographic Change in Southeastern Europe

The project brings together five partners in four countries (Austria, Bulgaria, Ger- many, Hungary). It has two major objectives: (1) to produce comparative, multidisciplinary re- search on narratives of ageing and on demographic change in Southeastern Europe as a region which is representative of the challenges but also potentials of these processes for Europe as a whole; (2) to contribute – through participatory approaches – to moving from prevailing catastrophic representations of ageing towards more diverse and empowering ones. A newly added dimension is the analysis of the effects of the refugee movement from Ukraine on care arrangements and population development in Southeastern Europe.

The project will contribute both to Southeast Europe Studies and Ageing Studies. Southeastern Europe is of particular importance for Europe as a volatile region. Through large-scale migration – not least of care-workers –, it is intimately connected with the rest of Europe. Our proposed project includes countries which are already part of the EU and such that aspire to become members, and countries with different demographic histories. The region’s population trends (“greying,” emigration) have the potential to cause social and political instability because they are framed in terms of “decline,” which gives rise to demographic nationalism.

Project members at the University of Graz: Assoz. Prof. Mag. Dr.phil. Ulla Kriebernegg, Univ.-Prof. Dr.phil. Florian David Bieber, MMag. Dr. Dagmar Gramshammer-Hohl, MA. PhD Oana Hergenröther

Funding by: VolkswagenStiftung