The Importance of Politics in Young Generations - Research Paper Example

? The importance of politics in young generations The development of political theories worldwide is usually related to the social and political conditions of each particular era. Most commonly, these theories aim to highlight the terms under which people should participate in political initiatives within their country. However, in practice it has been proved that the social needs on which political theories are based are differentiated – more or less – from the actual needs of people within the particular society; most important, it has been made clear that the needs of specific parts of the population, for instance the young people, are usually ignored when such theoretical frameworks are developed. On the other hand, the relationship between young people and politics cannot be ignored. This relationship is set under examination in this paper. Emphasis is given on the criteria used by young people when deciding to be involved in politics. The involvement of young people in politics is explained using relevant examples; in this way, the practical aspects of the relationship between politics and young people are made clear. Also, the importance of politics in young generations is explained analytically taking into consideration both the personal perceptions of young people – the most common ones – and their environment. In order to identify the aspects of the relationship between young generations and politics it would be important to understand the reasons for which young people are likely to be involved in political decisions and initiatives. Different approaches have been used in the literature in order to explain the involvement of young people in politics; in accordance with Persson & Tabellini young people are expected to participate in political actions in order to support the interests of their family (Persson & Tabellini 17); it is not made clear by the above researchers whether young people are expected to show similar enthusiasm when having to participate in political actions in order to promote their own needs. It can be assumed that such perspective can exist but it would be likely to be less developed compared to the case mentioned above. An indicative example used by Persson & Tabellini in order to support the above view is the following one: young people who participated in favour of the current security system decided on the basis of the interest of their parents – who are most favoured by this system – and not on their own interests (reference is made to the Social Security System of US); however, the above decision is explained as the result of the evaluation of interests involved: ‘the benefits for the parents were more compared to the loss for their children’ (Persson & Tabellini 17), a fact that used by young people as a criterion in order to act in this way. In accordance with the above view, politics can be important for young people at the level that the interests of the latter or their families can be promoted; in other words, the relationship between young people and politics is considered to have a compensative character. From a different approach, Rosenau (2006) notes that the relationship between politics and young people has been changed under the influence of the development of technology. More specifically, it is explained that through the media and, especially, the Internet young people can be informed on the political views of different social teams, including ‘elites, activists and thoughtful citizens worldwide’ (Rosenau 159). The level at which each young people will accept these views is depended on his/ her own perceptions and experiences but also on the relevant views of his/ her environment (family, friends, colleagues). The above view sets a series of crucial issues in regard to the relationship between politics and young generations: a) each young man is exposed to different political and social messages, b) the response of young people to the political messages received through the media and the Internet is not standardized – being depended on a series of issues as explained above, c) the importance of politics for young generations can be higher today – compared to the past when the ability of young people to be informed on political decisions and initiatives of various forms was limited; in fact, the development of media and the Internet can be considered as a key reason for the increase of involvement of young people in politics, d) the ability of young people to participate in political decisions and actions has been also increased – for example, the case of online voting for the development of activities that are related to politics. The view of Rosenau (2006) regarding the increase of importance of politics for young generations because of the media and the Internet can be opposed using the following argument: under certain terms, young people avoid to take part in political decisions and actions even if they need to do so in the context of the rules of the local Constitution – referring to the case of the increased abstention of young people in elections worldwide. The lack of important effects of the media and Internet on the relationship between the politics and the young generation is also highlighted in the study of Pomfret (2004); the above researcher refers to the extensive participation of young generations in the political activities developed in 1880s and 1920s in Britain; in fact, it is noted that they were young people’s political initiatives in the period that followed the 1880s which led people to increase their support towards the country’s Labour Party (Pomfret 244). Similar political initiatives were developed by young people in 1920s onwards; however, these activities did not have the form of the strong opposition to the governmental policies; still, they were indicative of the importance of politics for the young generation (Pomfret 244). Pomfret also refers to the view of E. Hobsbawm who noted that ‘in late 19th century Europe young people were much more attractive to revolutionary ideologies than other social groups’ Hobsbawm 1978, 134 in Pomfret 244). In accordance with the above views, the importance of politics in young generations is strongly related to the social and political conditions of each particular era – as these conditions are also influenced by the social theories and perceptions held in each country; for instance, in England and France where the willingness of people to have full access to their country’s key political decisions, young people were more likely to try improve their role in the politics of their country compared to other countries where no such social trends were developed. Reference can be made for instance to Spain where the establishment of democracy delayed significantly – actually it was achieved just in 1975 - a fact that indicates the lack of willingness of locals – including young people – to be involved in the political framework of their country. Another view regarding the importance of politics in young generations is presented in the study of Bergahn (1987); in accordance with Volker, the identification of the role of young people in the development of politics in Germany can be achieved by observing the responses of young people towards the rules of Nazism. It is explained that the ideology of Nazism in Germany managed to last for a long mostly because of its supporters among old people. As for the young people, those had a crucial role in the limitation of the power of Nazism across the country mostly because of the following reason: young people in Germany were most likely to be better educated; especially those young people who graduated from Universities understood that the values of Nazism have held Germany back (Bergahn 254). In this context, it is made clear that they were the active efforts of young people in Germany that allowed the transition to a democratic regime, free, a possible, from the rules of Nazism which had, in the past, extreme power on the country’s political decisions. Through the above view, the following aspect of the relationship between politics and young people is highlighted: the power of young people to cause the radical transformation of their country’s politics – as the example of Germany’s political transformation shows. However, the view of Bergahn, as presented above, regarding the relationship between education and politics, introduces the following idea: the participation of young people in political activities is related to their level of education. This view, can be partially justified taking into consideration the role of graduates in the change of political ethics and conditions in Germany – as described in the study of Bergahn above; however, this view is opposed with that of Pomfret (as presented above) who emphasized on the influence of the social trends and needs on the relationship between politics and young generations. However, it seems that influence of education on the relationship between politics and young generation cannot be doubted. This fact is highlighted in the study of Kamieniecki (1993) where the power of education to influence the views of young people on politics is made clear using a series of relevant examples. At a first level, reference is made to the environmental trends developed because of the Stockholm Conference (1972); it is noted that these trends influenced young graduates in USSR; in fact, it has been proved that many of those graduates had chosen their subject of studies in accordance with the increased interest on environment and biology as highlighted in relevant educational seminars of that period – 1970s and 1980s (Kamieniecki 208). Kamieniecki (1993) notes that after the completion of their studies, these young people started to press their political leaders in order to introduce policies aiming to protect the environment; it is mentioned that that at this point, young people were proved extremely vulnerable to the first generation of activists – who represented the political ideas of 1960s and early 1970s (Kamieniecki 208). Under these terms, education was used by the supporters of specific political trends in order to promote their ideas – presenting these ideas as necessary in order for significant social and political changes to be achieved – even if the chances for the success of this target were not clearly explained. Regarding the current aspects of the relationship between politics and young generations, the signs are rather negative; it seems that, today, young people avoid participating in political activities – despite the view of Rosenau (as presented above) that the involvement of young people in politics has been increased because of the media and the Internet. In fact, most of the researchers who studied the specific issue came to the conclusion that, today, young people are more likely to avoid participating in political initiatives; most commonly, the reason for such denial is based on the fact that such involvement would be of no value, since their views are not taken into consideration by politicians (Kesselman, Krieger & Allen 65). The specific fact reflects the disappointment of young generations on politics, a sentiment that has not been identified in the perceptions of young people on politics in past years – as presented in the studies analyzed above. In the survey conducted in the context of a Campaign developed across USA in 2000, young people were asked to state their view on the project ‘Y Vote 2000: Politics of a New Generation’ (McKinney 90); the above project aimed to attract the interest of young people – called as generation Y – on politics. Most of the participants/ young people thought that their involvement in politics ‘could possibly influence the decisions of their politicians on certain issues but even under these terms, young people, were not interested in politics’ (McKinney 90). This fact can lead to the following assumption: the disappointment of young people from the decisions of their political leaders has lasted for quite a long; it does not refer to a specific political decision but rather to all political initiatives developed by the political leaders in the last decades; this assumption does not refer only to the young people in USA but also in other countries worldwide – as for instance in Britain ((Kesselman, Krieger & Allen 65) and France (Ramsay 101). Under these terms, the importance of politics in young generations seems to be gradually decreased, a phenomenon which is expected to be expanded further unless particular measures are taken in order for the trust of young people to politics to be established again. Works Cited Berghahn, Volker. Modern Germany: society, economy, and politics in the twentieth century. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987. Irving, Mark, Zuckerman, Alan. Comparative politics: rationality, culture, and structure. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997. Kamieniecki, Scheldon. Environmental politics in the international arena: movements, parties, organizations, and policy. New York: SUNY Press, 1993. Kesselman, Mark, Krieger, Joel, Allen, Christopher. European Politics in Transition. Boston: Cengage Learning, 2008. McKinney, Mitchell. Communicating politics: engaging the public in democratic life. New York: Peter Lang, 2005. Persson, Torsten, Tabellini, Guido. Monetary and Fiscal Policy: Politics. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1994. Pomfret, David. Young people and the European city: age relations in Nottingham and Saint-Etienne, 1890-1940. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate Publishing, 2004. Ramsay, Raylene. French women in politics: writing power, paternal legitimization, and maternal legacies. Oxford: Berghahn Books, 2003. Rosenau, James. The Study of World Politics: Theoretical and methodological challenges. New York: Taylor & Francis, 2006. Read More