PUB - Publikationen an der Universität Bielefeld

The “challenges” discourse, usually linked to “opportunities,” has become increasingly widespread and transcends national boundaries. In this context, the construction of the aging of the world population as a global challenge accompanied by opportunities poses an intriguing case to study from a critical perspective. Since the mid-1990s, discussions by international and supranational organizations on the sustainability of the welfare state, the postponement of the retirement age, and the need for long-term care have been among the issues related to aging that frequently emerge as challenges at the global level. The policy discourse of “active aging,” which has had a significant impact on policy prescriptions, has promoted a normative definition of activity that is based on self-sufficiency but integrated into intergenerational networks. Against this background, this chapter discusses how, since the mid-1990s, the United Nations and the European Union, as prominent global social policy actors in this field, have constructed aging as a global challenge to be solved through active aging, supported by informal care and intergenerational solidarity.