Youth and Deinstitutionalization: Towards a Capabilities-Based Governance of Biographical Pathways

Abstract

Contemporary youth no longer represents a clearly defined transitional phase, but rather an uncertain in-between space, marked by tensions between injunctions to autonomy, institutional misalignments, and the heterogeneity of biographical paths. The erosion of linear life scripts, the deinstitutionalization of life trajectories, and the structural precariousness of entering adulthood have rendered obsolete the prescriptive models that still largely underpin public policy. This blurring is not merely a temporary contingency but reflects a regime change in the modalities of status production. This article offers a critical, cross-disciplinary, and contextually grounded review, combining theoretical insights with operational challenges. Sociology sheds light on the pluralization of transition regimes and the invisible forms of status-related conflict. Work psychology explores the subjective dynamics of wear, constrained reflexivity, and identity overload. Management sciences, finally, provide strategic reconfiguration tools through the notions of sustainability, interoperability of systems, and relational engineering. The analysis of the Moroccan case is not presented as a peripheral illustration but as a critical lens to expose the blind spots of universalist approaches. It highlights the cumulative effects of disaffiliation, fragmented opportunities, and a lack of mediation. The article thus advocates for a capacitating governance of youth trajectories based on the recognition of individual aspirations, the conversion of resources into actual opportunities, and the co-construction of sustainable ecosystems. The objective is no longer to optimize individuals' adaptation to fixed norms but to enable the emergence of diverse, legitimate life paths within a reconfigured institutional environment.

Classification JEL : O29

Paper type : Theoretical Research