Suchergebnisse

This book examines the EU policy of the German Social Democrats (SPD) after German unification, following their rise to power in 1998 and their record in office under Chancellor Schroder. The study deals with policy formation in the SPD through an analysis of the opportunity structures for policy-making in the EU, Germany and the party itself. Across this time period, the SPD recalibrated its European policy to absorb the impact of German unification, deeper European integration and globalization, seeking to interpret a changing world

For several decades, academics and political commentators have lamented the decline in electoral participation among younger citizens. In the United Kingdom, the proportion of 18- to 24-year-olds voting in general elections fell from over 60% in 1992 to an average of 40% between 2001 and 2015. Nevertheless, the high youth turnout in 2017 showed that young people will vote if they are interested in an issue or cause. Despite the scholarly interest in youth turnout, few studies have investigated the individual motivations for electoral participation among young people. This article aims to fill this gap. It presents a qualitative analysis of '#Votebecause', an offline–online initiative to encourage students to vote in the 2016 referendum on British membership of the European Union. The findings identify the importance of social networks, appropriate spaces for communication, deliberation, prior group membership and internal efficacy for engaging young people in the campaign.

There is widespread concern about declining public involvement in established democracies. Europeans are turning away from mainstream electoral politics towards new forms of political engagement. This is particularly the case for younger citizens. If young people are 'reinventing political activism' (Norris, 2002), in which forms of participation and in which countries is it most true? Drawing on data from the European Social Survey, the following article compares and contrasts young people's politics in the 15 old member states of the European Union. Youth engagement generally reflects a country's civic-political culture. However, there are significant differences in levels of youth participation, in ratios of youth participation (compared to the adult population as a whole) and in the relative popularity of different forms of political action. The United Kingdom stands out, however, with a disturbingly large gap between the political engagement of young people and older adults.

Declining youth participation in conventional forms of politics has become a central theme for academics and policy makers and has often been viewed as marking a crisis in citizenship. Yet there is overwhelming evidence to show that young people are not apathetic. They have their own views and engage in 'politics' (more broadly understood) in a wide variety of ways that have relevance to their everyday lives. The following article compares and contrasts the civic and political engagement of young people both within and among the United States, Britain, and Germany. The core arguments are that the forms of engagement practiced by young people are heavily structured in favor of highly educated and well-off citizens and that young people as a group have increasingly been marginalized from electoral politics. However, the different experiences across the three countries give scholars a clearer idea of how these problems might be overcome. [Reprinted by permission of Sage Publications Inc., copyright holder.]

Declining youth participation in conventional forms of politics has become a central theme for academics and policy makers and has often been viewed as marking a crisis in citizenship. Yet there is overwhelming evidence to show that young people are not apathetic. They have their own views and engage in "politics" (more broadly understood) in a wide variety of ways that have relevance to their everyday lives. The following article compares and contrasts the civic and political engagement of young people both within and among the United States, Britain, and Germany. The core arguments are that the forms of engagement practiced by young people are heavily structured in favor of highly educated and well-off citizens and that young people as a group have increasingly been marginalized from electoral politics. However, the different experiences across the three countries give scholars a clearer idea of how these problems might be overcome.

Declining participation in traditional forms of politics has become a central theme for academics and policy-makers, and has often been viewed as marking a crisis in citizenship. While youth participation in electoral politics has declined rapidly in recent decades, participation in issue-based forms of civic and political engagement has actually increased. However, the disconnection of young people from the political system remains a problem. The Conservative Party came to power in May 2010 after the onset of the global financial crisis, and a central theme of Prime Minister Cameron's agenda is the 'Big Society', which aims to make citizens 'feel both free and powerful enough to help themselves and their own communities'. It has provided the backdrop for concrete policy initiatives designed to decentralise power, further open up public services and create opportunities for citizens to get engaged at the local level. For it to succeed, the Big Society requires a cultural shift in civic and political engagement, for younger citizens (in particular) to embrace these new opportunities. This article evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of the Big Society in light of what we know about young people's politics in the UK and beyond. Adapted from the source document.

Introduces a special issue of this journal on youth, citizenship and politics.