Young people’s political discourse: Voice, efficacy and impact
Résumé
Prominent discourses of politically engaged young people in Western Europe have evolved
recently. This can be attributed to a variety of reasons, notably, a greater proportion of the
population going into further and higher education, a shift in shared values among many in
the young generation, evolutions in the issues triggering mobilisation, the increased use of
digital media and the more global nature of actions. This chapter deals with the expression
and reception of prominent political discourse among much of the contemporary young
generation. The main question addressed here is: to what extent do the actions of politically
engaged young people enable them to enter dialogue with decision-makers and bring about
changes in public decisions? To answer this question, the authors provide both an analysis of
political discourses produced by young people and politicians at a macro-sociological level,
and, material from their own field research in neighbouring countries Britain and France.The
chapter shows the impact of the young generation’s political discourse on policymaking is not
always very effective because the ambivalent status of young people means their voices are
not always acted on by powerholders to any real effect.