Young People Citizenship And Political Participation

Explores whether, and how, young people work with and against contemporary politics at institutional and grassroots levels.

Why does it appear that many young people are disengaging from democracy and political participation? For many governments, politicians, academics, social commentators and researchers this is a serious and challenging problem. Consequently widespread interest exists on how to engage young people in politics and democracy.

Learning about politics and life as a citizen is part of the transition to adulthood. During this stage young people in most Western democracies are introduced to political processes and issues, as well as a range of political activities including voting and participation in social movements. But young people make this transition differently. The articles in this Book explore a range of ways that young people participate politically and also discuss those who are not ‘active citizens’.

What is the place of young people in society today? This book presents a searching and comprehensive picture of youth, demonstrating both its diversity and singularity, and helping to dispel many of the myths, discriminations, stigmas and prejudices attached to this segment of society. Drawing on a vast empirical research exercise including over 8000 interviews and 40 focus groups in eight metropolitan areas of Brazil, this book explores the most important aspects of young people's social participation and the resulting challenges for public policy. With clear resonance beyond Brazil, this research is designed to inform youth policy strategies in the developing and developed world.

The future engagement of young citizens from a wide range of socio-economic, ethnic and cultural backgrounds in democratic politics remains a crucial concern for academics, policy-makers, civics teachers and youth workers around the world. At a time when the negative relationship between socio-economic inequality and levels of political participation is compounded by high youth unemployment or precarious employment in many countries, it is not surprising that new social media communications may be seen as a means to re-engage young citizens. This edited collection explores the influence of social media, such as YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter, upon the participatory culture of young citizens. This collection, comprising contributions from a number of leading international scholars in this field, examines such themes as the possible effects of social media use upon patterns of political socialization; the potential of social media to ameliorate young people’s political inequality; the role of social media communications for enhancing the civic education curriculum; and evidence for social media manifesting new forms of political engagement and participation by young citizens. These issues are considered from a number of theoretical and methodological approaches but all attempt to move beyond simplistic notions of young people as an undifferentiated category of ‘the internet generation’.

Recent years have witnessed growing concerns about the disengagement of young people from conventional politics both in Britain and internationally. Their non-participation is often viewed as reflecting both a deeper political alienation and 'apathy' amongst young people, and a wider political malaise across western societies. Based upon a wide range of UK and European survey sources, together with qualitative and policy-focused analyses, this volume explores the attitudes of young people to politics and government in Britain and assesses the prospects for re-engaging young people with the formal political process. Young Citizens will be a valuable reference for academics, researchers, policy makers and practitioners in the fields of sociology, social policy, citizenship studies and youth studies.

Citizen now offers a comprehensive description of the composition and behavior of young adults, an explanation and critique of the study of youth engagement, and a unique approach and methodology for appreciating how and why "citizen now" engages in politics and democracy. Citizen now considers youth political participation from the perspective of young adults themselves - specifically, young adults who've organized around an issue of great concern to Millennials, their economic well-being. The perfect text for undergraduates exploring the fundamentals of government, political behavior, and citizenship, this text's fresh take on the important subject of youth engagement offers both a path for future research and practical guidance on how to engage "citizen now" in politics and democracy.

This volume critically examines the multiple and contested meanings of ideal citizenship and reveal how children and youth craft active citizenship as they encounter and respond to the various institutions and organizations designed to encourage their civic and political development.