Political Engagement of the Young in Europe ― Youth in the Crucible

Although many scholars are convinced of the apparent civic disengagement of youth, others suggest that civic participation of young people is stable and increasingly expressed through non-institutionalized forms of practicing politics.

This book makes a key contribution to this discussion by asking whether the "decline or shift" paradigm is sufficient in understanding political participation of the youth. It argues that we need to move beyond this framework and develop a renewed reflection on the meaning of "civic and political engagement". It asks crucial questions such as:

• How can the young be educated into assuming civic and political responsibility?

• Why and how do young people engage in social and political action?

• How do the principal mediating institutions (education, media and the family) contribute to new or different forms of youth civic engagement?

This text contains contributions from acknowledged specialists such as Constance Flanagan, Mark Elchardus, Marc Hooghe and Bert Klandermans and will be of key interest to students and scholars of youth and young citizens, civic & political involvement, European politics, youth studies, sociology, political participation and electoral behaviour.

Peter Thijssen is a member of the Research Group Media, Movements and Politics in the Department of Political Sciences, University of Antwerp.

Jessy Siongers is a post-doctoral researcher at the Research Group CuDOS at the Department of Sociology at Ghent University and also a member of the Flemish Youth Research Platform.

Jacques Haers is member of the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven.

Jeroen Van Laer is Professor at the University of Antwerp and member of the M2P research group.

Sara Mels is Project Coordinator at the University Centre Saint Ignatius Antwerp.