Marketing Research
Parliamentary Affairs (2012) 65, 281–299
doi:10.1093/pa/gsr056
REVIEW ESSAY Understanding Electoral Turnout Among British Young People: A Review of the Literature
Edward Phelps*
University of Sussex, UK; Information Society Alliance, UK
*
Downloaded from http://pa.oxfordjournals.org/ at Swinburne University of Technology on March 18, 2013
Correspondence: edphelps@gmail.com
This article reviews the literature on youth engagement in politics. The article develops the argument that much of the research in this area is not set within the commonly understood and widely accepted political science literature on the determinants of voting behaviour in the UK. The article critiques the methodological approach which underpins much of this research, suggesting that in order to gain a real understanding of the dynamics of contemporary youth engagement an understanding of generational influences and differences is essential. I argue that explanations for youth disengagement tend to emanate from two schools of thought: the traditional political science understanding of youth turnout based on life-cycle explanations, or what I term the ‘anti-apathy’ approach, which, I argue, fails to situate young people’s political activity within the context of the political life cycle.
1.
The social basis of political support
The orthodox sociological model of electoral stability and party formation consolidated around the classic work of Seymour Lipset and Stein Rokkan (1967). According to Lipset and Rokkan (1967), after European party systems were established they froze, as parties consolidated their support bases, absorbed new social cleavages and developed long standing party images. Essential to Lipset and Rokkan’s theory was the idea that in order to survive political parties needed to reflect older divisions in society. Proponents of sociological models of voting argued that it was possible to predict with some accuracy how an individual or individuals would
doi:10.1093/pa/gsr056
REVIEW ESSAY Understanding Electoral Turnout Among British Young People: A Review of the Literature
Edward Phelps*
University of Sussex, UK; Information Society Alliance, UK
*
Downloaded from http://pa.oxfordjournals.org/ at Swinburne University of Technology on March 18, 2013
Correspondence: edphelps@gmail.com
This article reviews the literature on youth engagement in politics. The article develops the argument that much of the research in this area is not set within the commonly understood and widely accepted political science literature on the determinants of voting behaviour in the UK. The article critiques the methodological approach which underpins much of this research, suggesting that in order to gain a real understanding of the dynamics of contemporary youth engagement an understanding of generational influences and differences is essential. I argue that explanations for youth disengagement tend to emanate from two schools of thought: the traditional political science understanding of youth turnout based on life-cycle explanations, or what I term the ‘anti-apathy’ approach, which, I argue, fails to situate young people’s political activity within the context of the political life cycle.
1.
The social basis of political support
The orthodox sociological model of electoral stability and party formation consolidated around the classic work of Seymour Lipset and Stein Rokkan (1967). According to Lipset and Rokkan (1967), after European party systems were established they froze, as parties consolidated their support bases, absorbed new social cleavages and developed long standing party images. Essential to Lipset and Rokkan’s theory was the idea that in order to survive political parties needed to reflect older divisions in society. Proponents of sociological models of voting argued that it was possible to predict with some accuracy how an individual or individuals would
References: Downloaded from http://pa.oxfordjournals.org/ at Swinburne University of Technology on March 18, 2013 Understanding Electoral Turnout Among British Youth Downloaded from http://pa.oxfordjournals.org/ at Swinburne University of Technology on March 18, 2013 298 Downloaded from http://pa.oxfordjournals.org/ at Swinburne University of Technology on March 18, 2013 Understanding Electoral Turnout Among British Youth Downloaded from http://pa.oxfordjournals.org/ at Swinburne University of Technology on March 18, 2013 Norris, P., Walgrave, S