A generation apart? Youth and political participation in Britain

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Henn, M. ORCID: 0000-0002-1063-3544, Weinstein, M. and Wring, D., 2002. A generation apart? Youth and political participation in Britain. The British Journal of Politics and International Relations, 4 (2), pp. 167-192. ISSN 1369-1481

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1467-856X.t01-1-00001

Abstract

Conventional wisdom holds that young people in Britain are alienated from politics, with some claiming that this reflects a wider crisis of legitimacy that should be met by initiatives to increase citizenship. This article addresses these areas, presenting both panel survey and focus group data from first-time voters. It concludes that, contrary to the findings from many predominantly quantitative studies of political participation, young people are interested in political matters, and do support the democratic process. However they feel a sense of anti-climax having voted for the first time, and are critical of those who have been elected to positions of political power. If they are a generation apart, this is less to do with apathy, and more to do with their engaged scepticism about ‘formal’ politics in Britain.

Item Type:

Journal article

Description:

The definitive version is available at www.blackwell-synergy.com

Publication Title:

The British Journal of Politics and International Relations

Creators:

Henn, M., Weinstein, M. and Wring, D.

Publisher:

Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Place of Publication:

Oxford