NILS GUSTAFSSON – New forms of political participation, youth engagement, democracy

Slide 2:Narrative 1: Young people don’t careSinking levels of (traditional) political participation in EuropeBut in many places, upward trend for youth voteSlide 3:Narrative 2: Young people are lazySlide 4:Narrative 3: Young people are doing the wrong thingsSlide 5:Narrative 4: Social media is to blameSlide 6:Counternarrative: Yes/No, but...Dutiful vs self-actualizing citizensIndividualizationAge vs generationSlide 7:Counternarrative: Yes/No, but...Young people do careYoung people tend to engage in different forms than traditional”New” forms do not replace ”old” forms, they co-existVoting is the most important political act!An opportunity for democracy: embrace more flexible and easier ways for citizens to engage with politicsA challenge for democracy: include and respect new forms of engagement and organisation without falling for twitterstorms and influence campaignsSlide 9:Thank you!www.isk.lu.se/nils-gustafssonNils.Gustafsson@isk.lu.se