Youth doing politics in times of increasing inequalities

Abstract

Particularly in the current context of rapid political change, it is crucial to understand the political participation of young people and what underpins their political engagement patterns as well the as the inequalities that may lie beneath them. While there is a rich literature on youth participation, to date we have lacked the data to carry out detailed subgroup analyses to understand differences in the political participation between different groups of youth cross-nationally. The papers in this Special Issue all examine different aspects of youth participation in the current context. They examine key questions for participation including the inequalities, socialising influences, polarisation, online participation, radical political views, tolerance, life engagement and opportunities for social inclusion. This Special Issue thus provides a contemporary analysis of youth participation in Europe in the current historical juncture.