Modern democracies are closely linked to the principle of representation. A number of scholars use "democracy" and "representation" interchangeably, although not all forms of representation are democratic (Deschouwer, Depauw and Andre, 2014). Nevertheless, it can be said that the two terms are closely related, as representation has become the predominant form of organising modern democracies (Keane, 2009). The main principle of representation has remained unchanged over the centuries: People's representatives should reflect the will of the people and act accordingly in representative political bodies. As we have seen in recent years, modern representative democracy faces numerous challenges and criticisms (Crouch, 2004; Keane, 2009; Della Porta 2013), all of which are in some way related to the question of the quality of democracy in general and the quality of representation in particular (e.g. Buhlmann et al., 2012; Tormey, 2015). Different public opinion surveys (e.g. ESS, Eurobarometer, ISSP) have revealed a growing negative sentiment towards the main institutions of representative democracy. In particular, trust in these institutions as well as satisfaction with the functioning of democracy in general are extremely low, even reaching critical levels in some countries.
The age group most affected by this problem and most hostile to this image of democracy is the youth. The great distrust of youth towards institutional politics has led to an increasing alienation of this section of the population from electoral politics and the institutions of representative democracy. The constant crises and the corrective measures that have followed have put a disproportionate burden on the youth and made the situation worse. The low number of young national parliamentarians shows that young people feel disconnected from traditional politics. Research has shown that the percentage of MPs younger than 30 in national parliaments in OECD countries only exceeds 2 per cent in exceptional cases (see Tremmel 2006, p. 211; Deželan, 2016). With less than 2.8 per cent of young MPs in national parliaments (IPU, 2015) – the proportion of young female MPs is rarely higher than one in four (Deželan, 2016) – and the accompanying evidence of low political participation (see Garcia Albacete, 2014; Deželan, 2023), such anti-youth political systems also lead to political outcomes that are unfavourable to young people (EYF, 2015; Deželan, 2016). Various studies point to the empirical fact that the outcomes of the political process are in favour of those who participate the most (see Macedo et al. 2005) and "if you do not vote, you do not count" (Martin 2012, 107). Although other age groups might represent the interests of youth, empirically this is not the case.
Given the immense distrust of institutional politics among the young (see EVS 2020), modern representative democracies are becoming very vulnerable and it is not surprising that there are more and more voices questioning the validity of the current form of representative democracy and even democracy itself (see Frye, 2014; Rosanvallon, 2008). However, as long as over 90 per cent of citizens in OECD countries consider democracy to be the best form of government (Barclay Roger, 2010) – with youth reaching around 70 per cent – the way forward is not to look for alternative forms of government, but to find ways to improve the current one so that it can better respond to the needs of citizens, especially the less represented. For these reasons, we can confidently say that contributing to the debate on the nature of (youth) representation (see Urbinatti, 2006; Britto Vieira and Runciman, 2008; Sawarda, 2008) rather than the debate on the end of representation (e.g. Kean, 2009; Žižek, 2011; Tormey, 2015) is of greater benefit, especially to young people and the representatives of their interests.
The focus of representation (i.e. who is represented, the geographically defined sections of societies, the voters of parliamentarians’ parties, or particular social groups (see Eulau and Karps, 1977)) seems to be one of the most important considerations to take into account in this quest and in the study of young people’s disengagement from institutional politics, but studies rarely pay attention to it. What we do know is that the least practised role of MPs is the representation of particular social groups, although, for example, the issue of the representation of women as a particular social group in politics has been heavily highlighted for decades (see Mackay (2008), Krook (2009); Kenny (2013)). The issue of representation of youth as one of the social groups most alienated from institutional politics therefore needs to be addressed. Despite the growing awareness of the importance of young people's political representation and participation, which is inextricably linked to trust (see Geys, 2006; Smets and Van Ham, 2013; Macedo et al., 2005; Levine, 2006; Martin, 2012), research on youth representation in representative bodies and ways to promote it is sparse. This Research Topic fills this gap and explores (a) the evidence of misrepresentation of young people (Strøm, Muller and Bergman, 2003; Rohrschneider and Whitefield, 2012), (b) the issue of parliaments as socially representative institutions for young people, and (c) how citizens view representatives and their role, and how representatives view representation of young people.
Proposed papers may be theoretical or empirical. Possible topics that could be addressed in the proposed papers, though not exclusively, are the following:
- Why do political institutions have a poor track record in representing youth?
- What is the evidence on youth representation? How big is the problem of youth representation? Are there differences between different levels, countries, institutions, and institutional frameworks?
- What is youth representation? Are we talking about the competing models? What is the best form of youth representation?
- Why should adequate youth representation be a norm of any well-functioning democracy and what is adequate youth representation?
- What are the best practices of youth representation and what makes it good youth representation?
- What are the consequences of inadequate youth representation and how does it affect young people?
- To what extent and why do representatives focus on young people and to what extent should they focus on them?
- What do young people expect from their political representatives and what qualities should these representatives have?
Keywords:
youth political participation, electoral participation, citizenship, citizenship education
Important Note:
All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
Modern democracies are closely linked to the principle of representation. A number of scholars use "democracy" and "representation" interchangeably, although not all forms of representation are democratic (Deschouwer, Depauw and Andre, 2014). Nevertheless, it can be said that the two terms are closely related, as representation has become the predominant form of organising modern democracies (Keane, 2009). The main principle of representation has remained unchanged over the centuries: People's representatives should reflect the will of the people and act accordingly in representative political bodies. As we have seen in recent years, modern representative democracy faces numerous challenges and criticisms (Crouch, 2004; Keane, 2009; Della Porta 2013), all of which are in some way related to the question of the quality of democracy in general and the quality of representation in particular (e.g. Buhlmann et al., 2012; Tormey, 2015). Different public opinion surveys (e.g. ESS, Eurobarometer, ISSP) have revealed a growing negative sentiment towards the main institutions of representative democracy. In particular, trust in these institutions as well as satisfaction with the functioning of democracy in general are extremely low, even reaching critical levels in some countries.
The age group most affected by this problem and most hostile to this image of democracy is the youth. The great distrust of youth towards institutional politics has led to an increasing alienation of this section of the population from electoral politics and the institutions of representative democracy. The constant crises and the corrective measures that have followed have put a disproportionate burden on the youth and made the situation worse. The low number of young national parliamentarians shows that young people feel disconnected from traditional politics. Research has shown that the percentage of MPs younger than 30 in national parliaments in OECD countries only exceeds 2 per cent in exceptional cases (see Tremmel 2006, p. 211; Deželan, 2016). With less than 2.8 per cent of young MPs in national parliaments (IPU, 2015) – the proportion of young female MPs is rarely higher than one in four (Deželan, 2016) – and the accompanying evidence of low political participation (see Garcia Albacete, 2014; Deželan, 2023), such anti-youth political systems also lead to political outcomes that are unfavourable to young people (EYF, 2015; Deželan, 2016). Various studies point to the empirical fact that the outcomes of the political process are in favour of those who participate the most (see Macedo et al. 2005) and "if you do not vote, you do not count" (Martin 2012, 107). Although other age groups might represent the interests of youth, empirically this is not the case.
Given the immense distrust of institutional politics among the young (see EVS 2020), modern representative democracies are becoming very vulnerable and it is not surprising that there are more and more voices questioning the validity of the current form of representative democracy and even democracy itself (see Frye, 2014; Rosanvallon, 2008). However, as long as over 90 per cent of citizens in OECD countries consider democracy to be the best form of government (Barclay Roger, 2010) – with youth reaching around 70 per cent – the way forward is not to look for alternative forms of government, but to find ways to improve the current one so that it can better respond to the needs of citizens, especially the less represented. For these reasons, we can confidently say that contributing to the debate on the nature of (youth) representation (see Urbinatti, 2006; Britto Vieira and Runciman, 2008; Sawarda, 2008) rather than the debate on the end of representation (e.g. Kean, 2009; Žižek, 2011; Tormey, 2015) is of greater benefit, especially to young people and the representatives of their interests.
The focus of representation (i.e. who is represented, the geographically defined sections of societies, the voters of parliamentarians’ parties, or particular social groups (see Eulau and Karps, 1977)) seems to be one of the most important considerations to take into account in this quest and in the study of young people’s disengagement from institutional politics, but studies rarely pay attention to it. What we do know is that the least practised role of MPs is the representation of particular social groups, although, for example, the issue of the representation of women as a particular social group in politics has been heavily highlighted for decades (see Mackay (2008), Krook (2009); Kenny (2013)). The issue of representation of youth as one of the social groups most alienated from institutional politics therefore needs to be addressed. Despite the growing awareness of the importance of young people's political representation and participation, which is inextricably linked to trust (see Geys, 2006; Smets and Van Ham, 2013; Macedo et al., 2005; Levine, 2006; Martin, 2012), research on youth representation in representative bodies and ways to promote it is sparse. This Research Topic fills this gap and explores (a) the evidence of misrepresentation of young people (Strøm, Muller and Bergman, 2003; Rohrschneider and Whitefield, 2012), (b) the issue of parliaments as socially representative institutions for young people, and (c) how citizens view representatives and their role, and how representatives view representation of young people.
Proposed papers may be theoretical or empirical. Possible topics that could be addressed in the proposed papers, though not exclusively, are the following:
- Why do political institutions have a poor track record in representing youth?
- What is the evidence on youth representation? How big is the problem of youth representation? Are there differences between different levels, countries, institutions, and institutional frameworks?
- What is youth representation? Are we talking about the competing models? What is the best form of youth representation?
- Why should adequate youth representation be a norm of any well-functioning democracy and what is adequate youth representation?
- What are the best practices of youth representation and what makes it good youth representation?
- What are the consequences of inadequate youth representation and how does it affect young people?
- To what extent and why do representatives focus on young people and to what extent should they focus on them?
- What do young people expect from their political representatives and what qualities should these representatives have?
Keywords:
youth political participation, electoral participation, citizenship, citizenship education
Important Note:
All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.