Involving young people in democracy
Don’t knock clicktivism: it represents the political participation aspirations of the modern citizen
We are surrounded by simple online participatory processes asking for our opinions through one-click online petitions, content sharing, and social buttons. Max Halupka discusses his article Clicktivism: A Systematic Heuristic, which emphasises that this so-called “clicktivism” is a legitimate political act. However, he argues that these acts have been largely marginalised in the mainstream political science […]
Could Corbyn win an election by mobilising non-voters? Not if he doesn’t win over Conservative supporters too
Less than a year after the election, average polls suggest that Labour continue to poll at about the same level or worse than the 2015 result. Anthony McDonnell writes that this is worrying for the Left, as previous trends indicate their poll numbers usually rise significantly relative to the Conservatives’ within months of the Tories […]
Politics should be something that everyone can get involved in, and Verto is proving that Voter Advice Applications play a vital role on this mission.
Voter Advice Applications have been on the rise in recent years. These websites and apps match users to a particular political party based on a set of questions about their attitudes to different policies and political statements. Verto, launched last year, has been rebooted for the London Mayoral election. Here, Oliver Sidorczuk, Emily Rainsford, and […]
Book Review: Networked Publics and Digital Contention: The Politics of Everyday Life in Tunisia by Mohamed Zayani
How has ‘the networked public’ contributed to the development of new social movements, strategies of resistance and an evolving relationship between the state and society in the realm of the everyday? In Networked Publics and Digital Contention: The Politics of Everyday Life in Tunisia, Mohamed Zayani takes Tunisia as a case study, drawing upon fieldwork, […]
The generation gap: How young voters view the UK’s referendum
Opinion polls on the UK’s upcoming referendum have consistently shown a clear generational divide, with younger voters more likely to support staying in the EU than older citizens. Using recent survey data, James Sloam assesses the factors underpinning this split, noting that if young people have such a distinct position on the EU, it is […]
Political parties which operate in a direct democratic context tend to have a higher number of members
Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership of the Labour Party has seen him crowdsource questions for his weekly parliamentary question time with David Cameron, with many praising both this and his other attempts to democratise the Labour Party’s operations. Here, Yvette Peters looks at the impact of direct democracy on party membership, finding that political parties which operate […]
Improving verbal learning in schools can increase political engagement and encourage voting later in life
Can education policymakers close achievements gaps in core subjects, and at the same time improve civic education and participation? In new research, Meghan Condon argues that they can; students who gain greater verbal skills in school, and who then do better academically, are also more likely to vote and volunteer as adults. She argues that […]
‘Emotive nationalism’ does not explain Scotland’s young ‘Yes’ voters
The independence referendum of 2014 granted 16 and 17 year old Scots the right to vote in a nationwide contest for the first time, with the increased political engagement of young people proving to be one of the key positives to come out of the election. Here, Maddie Breeze, Hugo Gorringe, Lynn Jamieson and Michael Rosie look at […]
The Vote at 16 in 2016: Three things campaigners must do now
Hopes that 16 and 17-year olds might be allowed to vote in the EU referendum were quickly quashed by the government at the end of 2015. Benjamin Bowman considers where those pushing for the extension of suffrage should go from here. He argues that campaigners need to refocus on the core issues in the new year and […]
An enduring legacy? The independence referendum may not herald the beginning of a new era of political engagement
The independence referendum fundamentally changed Scottish politics, with an extraordinarily high turnout of 84.6% leading some to speculate that a new era of political engagement had begun. But as Heinz Brandenburg, Zach Greene, Neil McGarvey and Stephen Campbell show, that may not be the case – with those who were brought to the polls for the first time likely […]
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