Youth Activism in Environmental Politics

Recently, important new research has emerged to explain the large intergenerational cleavages in values and political preferences in many contemporary societies. In most established democracies (and many newer democracies), young people are more likely to possess progressive values and are much more cosmopolitan in their outlook (socially liberal, accepting of cultural diversity and outward looking) than older generations. They tend to reject mainstream electoral politics and authoritarian-nationalist forms of populism in favour of alternative, progressive political parties and movements.

Indeed, there is burgeoning evidence of a global tendency towards young people’s support for, and participation in, new styles of non-institutionalised political action that seem to better fit their life-styles and to permit the actualisation of their political aspirations. Although there is a considerable body of existing literature that examines the rise of such values and political participation preferences, there is little work that focuses on the relationship with the prioritisation of environmental issues and environmental activism as evidenced in the September 2019 global climate strikes.

The goal of the current Research Topic is to explore the contemporary realities and patterns of youth participation in environmental politics in different societies. As such, we welcome manuscripts of original research and conceptualization that address the different practices of youth as they seek to effect environmental change (and also their motivations for doing so). Contributions are welcome from scholars, youth practitioners and activists operating in a range of different settings, and using diverse disciplinary, and multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary perspectives.