How can youth political participation in Africa be encouraged?
Do political knowledge and democratic values encourage young people to participate in politics or not? Political Scientist Leila Demarest had a closer look at adolescents’ participation intentions in Nigeria and shared her findings with The Conversation.
In weak democracies, citizens with strong democratic values and good political knowledge may actually step back from political participation. This contrasts with established democracies, where such citizens usually get more involved. Does the promotion of civic education then pose threats for participation in weak democracies?
Leila Demarest (Institute of Political Science, Leiden University) and Line Kuppens (University of Amsterdam) found that politically informed and democratic-minded youths in Nigeria avoid party-related activities like membership or campaigning, but that does not mean they turn their back on politics. On the contrary, one might say...
› Read the full article on The Conversation.