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Young people are less likely to vote than older citizens, but they are also more diverse in how they choose to participate in politics.

Editorial / Opinion Piece / Blog Post

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April 28, 2014

Young people are less likely to vote than older citizens, but they are also more diverse in how they choose to participate in politics.

Participation in electoral politics has declined across Western Europe in recent decades as citizens have become increasingly disillusioned with conventional forms of politics. As James Sloam notes, this is especially true for the current generation of young Europeans, who have turned to alternative forms of political engagement that seem to have more relevance to their everyday lives. Indeed, in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, we have witnessed a resurgence of youth political protest. The hallmark of young people’s politics is ‘diversity’: a wide array of participatory acts performed across hybrid public spaces (from Twitter to the town square). But we must also be concerned with ‘who participates’ – in particular the large social inequalities inherent in non-electoral forms of engagement.

Participation is a cornerstone of citizenship in liberal democracies. Yet most European democracies are today characterised by low or falling voter turnout and the dramatic decline and ageing of political party memberships. These trends are most striking amongst young people (defined here as 15 to 24 year olds), who have become alienated from mainstream electoral politics in established European democracies.

Nevertheless, there is overwhelming evidence to show that young people are not apathetic about ‘politics’ (in a broader sense) – they have their own views and engage in democracy in a wide variety of ways. Indeed, it is young people themselves who are diversifying political engagement: from consumer politics, to community campaigns, to international networks facilitated by online technology; from the ballot box, to the street, to the Internet; from political parties, to social movements and issue groups, to social networks. Indeed, the slow-burning participatory crisis in democratic politics has become transformed by the global financial crisis into a new wave of youth protest, from Cairo, to Madrid, to New York, to Istanbul to Rio de Janeiro.

Publisher
LSE
Publication year
2013

Participation in electoral politics has declined across Western Europe in recent decades as citizens have become increasingly disillusioned with conventional forms of politics. As James Sloam notes, this is especially true for the current generation of young Europeans, who have turned to alternative forms of political engagement that seem to have more relevance to their everyday lives. Indeed, in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, we have witnessed a resurgence of youth political protest. The hallmark of young people’s politics is ‘diversity’: a wide array of participatory acts performed across hybrid public spaces (from Twitter to the town square). But we must also be concerned with ‘who participates’ – in particular the large social inequalities inherent in non-electoral forms of engagement.

Participation is a cornerstone of citizenship in liberal democracies. Yet most European democracies are today characterised by low or falling voter turnout and the dramatic decline and ageing of political party memberships. These trends are most striking amongst young people (defined here as 15 to 24 year olds), who have become alienated from mainstream electoral politics in established European democracies.

Nevertheless, there is overwhelming evidence to show that young people are not apathetic about ‘politics’ (in a broader sense) – they have their own views and engage in democracy in a wide variety of ways. Indeed, it is young people themselves who are diversifying political engagement: from consumer politics, to community campaigns, to international networks facilitated by online technology; from the ballot box, to the street, to the Internet; from political parties, to social movements and issue groups, to social networks. Indeed, the slow-burning participatory crisis in democratic politics has become transformed by the global financial crisis into a new wave of youth protest, from Cairo, to Madrid, to New York, to Istanbul to Rio de Janeiro.

Publisher
LSE
Publication year
2013