Full Issue
| Date | 01 April 2013 |
| DOI | 10.1111/2041-9066.12001 |
| Published date | 01 April 2013 |
| Subject Matter | Full Issue |
Insight making sense
of issues,
arguments,
trends and
developments
POLITICAL
April 2013
Europe’s Outraged Youth
How young people are changing politics
PLUS
Greece at the Crossroads
The Leveson Inquiry
The politics of disability
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Editorial
When it comes to politics, young people are often accused of taking to heart Che Guevara’s imploration
to ‘be a realist, demand the impossible’. From Occupy to the Arab Spring, young men and women have
been at the vanguard of the protest movements that have sprung up since 2008.
At the same time, however, in most European states fewer 18–25 year olds are voting than ever before.
The disillusionment that many young people feel towards mainstream politics is often classified as ‘apathy’,
but in this issue’s cover feature James Sloam argues that the ‘outraged young’ are actively changing the
political landscape.
Looking across Europe, Sloam finds alternative forms of political participation such as boycotts, petitions
and demonstrations on the increase. However, the political marginalisation of young people, particularly
those from disadvantaged backgrounds, is a serious worry. In the UK, young people’s political participation is only 60 per cent
of the rate of the general population (compared to a European average of 86 per cent).
One place where young people will definitely have a greater say (at least in the short term) is Scotland. Under the terms of
next year’s independence referendum, 16- and 17-year-olds will be able to vote in the plebiscite. This is likely to reawaken calls
for the voting age to be lowered for all elections in the UK, but David Denver argues that such a change would be unnecessary
and counterproductive.
In Greece, almost every section of society has been affected by the debt crisis and the subsequent wave of austerity
programmes. Roman Gerodimos reports on the rise of violent extremism and the spread of social malaise in the wake of the
crisis, and argues that these phenomena have deep historical roots and pose significant challenges for Greek democracy.
Another country that has suffered recent unrest is Nigeria. Here, Pete Kingsley reports from the oil-rich African state on the
need for infrastructure investment and an end to sectarian violence. In the UK, the Leveson inquiry into the culture of the
press was one of the big political stories of 2012. Chris Hanretty reflects on Leveson, its recommendations and the increasing
appetite in Westminster for judge-led inquiries.
Lesley Jeffries shows how the language of politics has real-world effects, and Mark Rathbone charts the rise of ‘amicus curiae’
briefs in the US Supreme Courts. Elsewhere, Alex Kaehne examines the politics of disability in the wake of last summer’s
Paralympics.
Eric Kauffman reviews some recent work in behavioural psychology and asks whether these findings can improve the study
of politics and the policies of academic departments. In the regular In Focus slot, Benjamin D. Hennig and Danny Dorling plot
the geography of the world’s billionaires.
2013 is an important year for politics and for political studies, and Political Insight will be here providing expert research,
analysis and opinion on issues of national and international import. If you would like to join the conversation just drop me
an email (address on the opposite page) or check out the brand new Political Insight website at http://www.psa.ac.uk/political-
insight.
Peter Geoghegan
Editor
Cover: Corbis
Editor
Peter Geoghegan
editor@politicalinsightmagazine.com
Editorial Board
Professor John Benyon
University of Leicester
Professor Neil Collins
University College Cork
Professor Charlie Jeffrey
University of Edinburgh
Professor Andrew Massey
University of Exeter
International Advisory Board
Professor Luciano Bardi
University of Pisa
Professor Andrew Gamble
University of Cambridge
Professor Robert Goodin
Australian National University
Professor Zhu Guanglei
Nankai University
Professor Ian Holliday
University of Hong Kong
Professor Ira Katznelson
Columbia University
Martha Kearney
British Broadcasting Corporation
Professor Gurpreet Mahajan
Jawaharlal Nehru University
Professor Pippa Norris
Harvard University
Professor Rasul Bakhsh Rais
Lahore University of Management Sciences
Professor Rod Rhodes
University of Southampton
Insight making sense
of issues,
arguments,
trends and
developments
POLITICAL
Volume 4 • Number 1 April 2013
In the News 2
Parliamentary perceptions; Russian riot; Young
people’s politics; Reforming China
Features
The ‘Outraged Young’: How Young
Europeans are Reshaping the Political
Landscape 4
Are young people apathetic? Or are they politi-
cally engaged in different ways? James Sloam
examines the changing face of political partici-
pation among young Europeans.
Leveson Inquiry: Letting the Judges
Take the Hard Decisions? 8
The Leveson inquiry was supposed to draw a
line under press misbehaviour – but its recep-
tion has merely reaffirmed pre-existing politi-
cal boundaries. Chris Hanretty reports.
Back to Reality: The Challenges of
Disability Politics in the UK 12
The Paralympics in London last summer put
people with disabilities firmly in the spotlight.
But, Axel Kaehne argues, for ordinary people
with disabilities sizable hurdles still remain.
Greece: Politics at the Crossroads 16
The Greek debt crisis has been accompanied
by a rise in violent extremism. Roman Ger-
odimos examines the roots of Greece’s social
malaise and looks at the challenges facing the
country’s democracy.
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Contents Anyone for a Warm Cup of Coee? How
Politics can learn from Behavioural
Economics 20
Eric Kaufmann asks what politics, and politics
departments, can learn from psychology after
the demise of the ‘rational actor’ model of hu-
man behaviour.
Language in Conict: The Politics
Behind the Rhetoric 28
Lesley Jeffries examines the importance of
linguistic understanding in the world of politics
and the conflicts that arise when politics fails.
Amicus Curiae: The US Supreme Court’s
Inuential Friend 32
Mark Rathbone investigates the rise in sub-
missions to the US Supreme Court from indi-
viduals and groups not directly involved in a
court case.
Country Focus
Nigeria 24
Pete Kingsley takes a journey through Afri-
ca’s most populous nation, looking at its recent
economic and political travails but also at the
oil-rich state’s prospects for the future.
Foresight
Votes at Sixteen? Surely Not! 36
Sixteen- and 17-year-olds will be able to vote
in next year’s independence referendum in
Scotland. So should the voting age to be low-
ered for all elections in the UK? David Denver
argues against such a change.
In Focus
The World’s Billionaires 38
Benjamin D. Hennig and Danny Dorling
plot the geography of the world’s plutocracy.
1April 2013
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