Youth and Politics: Strange Bedfellows?

Are young people still interested in politics? The least one can say is that there are solid
indications that something is wrong with the relationship between young people and
institutional politics. In various democracies electoral turnout is declin...

Are young people still interested in politics? The least one can say is that there are solid
indications that something is wrong with the relationship between young people and
institutional politics. In various democracies electoral turnout is declining sharply, especially
among young voters. Political parties and various social movement organizations have a hard
time when they try to mobilize young members. According to some accounts, young citizens
are even responsible for the bulk of the decline of social capital in Western societies.
On the other hand, there are also more optimistic assessments of the political evolution among
young people. While political participation might loose appeal among adolescents, civic
engagement is stable, and may even be on the rise. Young citizens today seem to prefer noninstitutionalized
forms of practicing politics. Skeptic observers, however, would argue that
these new forms of engagement tend to be superficial and short-lived, while it remains to be
seen whether non-institutionalized forms of participation are indeed effective.

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