Recent debates concerning the age of electoral majority in the UK have focused on the levels of knowledge and maturity of young people. However, little research has explored the ways in which adolescents orient to these concerns themselves. In this article, we present analyses from a qualitative interview investigation in Northern England, and…

This article comprehensively examines the level and patterns of political participation of University of Ottawa (U-Ottawa) undergraduate students. Based on a self-administered survey of 570 undergraduate students of all disciplines, I find that U-Ottawa students show high degrees of political interest and involvement (e.g. the average U-Ottawa…

The recent decline in voter turnout, a trend largely attributed to lack of youth participation, has focused the attention of many scholars on the study of young people and politics. While great strides have been made in understanding youth disengagement, one dimension of the field that remains understudied is the development of political interest.…

Building upon the literature that examines young people and politics, this article examines the extent to which young women are interested in politics. The hypothesis is that young women might not necessarily be interested in mainstream party politics but that, when questioned, they are actually interested in political issues. This ties in with…

Low youth electoral turnouts are considered problematic in many democracies. Here I explore youth electoral engagement in the Australian context where the policy literature attributes low youth electoral enrolments to apathetic and disassociated youth, and the response is Civics and Citizenship education. This construction of youth and advocacy of…