The ‘Outraged Young’: How Young Europeans are Reshaping the Political Landscape
| Author | James Sloam |
| Published date | 01 April 2013 |
| Date | 01 April 2013 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/2041-9066.12003 |
| Subject Matter | Feature |
who maintain excellent working conditions
as young people are effectively frozen out,
employed on short-term contracts, or made
to accept poor working conditions.
Despite facing economic hardship, the
current generation of young Europeans is
told by political elites that there is no alter-
native to this austerity and that they are the
ones who have to make sacrifices. In this
context, the recent proliferation of protest
politics across Europe is hardly surprising:
from student demonstrations against ris-
ing tuition fees in London, to rallies of the
‘outraged young’ (indignados) against youth
unemployment in Madrid, to the Occupy
Movement against corporate greed and po-
litical corruption, to the emergence of Pirate
Parties in defence of individual freedom
The ‘Outraged Young’:
How Young Europeans are Reshaping
thePolitical Landscape
Since the onset of the global financial
crisis, young Europeans (15–24 year
olds) have become increasingly mar-
ginalised from electoral politics and by public
policy. They are bearing the brunt of public
spending cuts – from increased university
tuition fees to the closure of youth centres
– and are faced with a hostile labour market
for new entrants. Although the severity of
these austerity measures varies greatly from
country to country, Eurostat figures show
that the number of NEETs (young people
not in employment, education and training)
has risen by almost 20 per cent across the old
European Union (the ‘EU15’) since 2007.
Many other young people have been forced
into low-paid, temporary employment or
into education and training as a last resort.
Indeed, today’s young Europeans are likely
to be the first generation since the Second
World War who will be worse off than their
parents.
In many instances, the interests of the
young have been viewed as insignificant
or even expendable (witness the Liberal
Democrat u-turn on tuition fees). Whilst
benefits for older people – such as pen-
sions – have often been protected or even
increased, benefits and services for young
people have been drastically reduced.
Though few would resent increases in
basic living allowances for the elderly,
wealthy pensioners (who have benefitted
from credit booms and housing bubbles)
often maintain their privileges. The most
extreme example of this is in Britain, where
the Education Maintenance Allowance (to
support students from poorer backgrounds
taking higher-level qualifications) was abol-
ished, but the Winter Fuel Allowance, free
TV licences and free travel passes for pen-
sioners remain exempt from means-testing.
In a number of European countries, the
labour market is geared towards insiders,
Declining involvement in politics has long been a concern of academics and policy-makers. Yet young Europeans
are today reshaping the political landscape in new ways. These diverse patterns of youth participation reveal
much about the health of our democracies, writes James Sloam.
(especially on the internet) in Sweden and
Germany.
This article examines young people’s poli-
tics in Europe. In light of increasing disillu-
sionment with politicians and parties and the
rise of youth-led movements demanding po-
litical and economic change, it concentrates
on voter turnout and political protest. Whilst
there are many other important forms of
political participation, these two types of
engagement have a particular relevance for
young people’s politics in Europe today.
The Rise of Protest
For decades, citizens have been turning
away from participation in mainstream
FIGURE 1 Political Participation of Young People (15–24 year olds) in Europe (EU15)
Source: European Social Survey, 2000-2008
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Voted in
national
election
Displayed
badge/
sticker
Participated in
demonstration
Signed
petition
Joined
boycott
Worked for other
organisation/
association
Rate of youth participation
General rate of participation (all ages)
4
Political Insight
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