Young People, the 'crisis of Democracy' and Political Transformation

Using measures of democratic health, like voter turnout, party membership, trust in politicians, interest in politics and the resurgence of authoritarian, illiberal regimes, it is clear that democracy is now in trouble globally. Yet somewhat paradoxically, we are also witnessing a resurgence of citizen engagement - particularly young people - as they particpate in, and lead, advocacy for change on issues including gun law reform, education debt, immigration, racism, violence against women, identity and climate change. In this session, we ask: can we see in these forms of ‘youthful politics’ a reason for optimism about the future of democracy and if so, why?

Moreover, while there is a popular assumption young people are inclined towards left or progressive, we recognise a much wider spectrum of ‘youthful politics,’ including those engaged in far-right groups such as those who are anti-vax/government, white supremacist or anti-Muslim. Is the participation of young people in such movements shaping democracies around the world? It is also noted that some of these movements are modelling new kinds of democratic politics, while increasing contention between competing groups.

Taking as a starting point, that democracy is a system of governance which is encouraging and reliant on a plurality of views and actions (Mouffe, 2005) papers in this session will explore evidence and relevant theoretical frames to ask how we can best understand the current crisis of democracy and the role young people are variously playing in resolving or exacerbating that crisis?