当代法国青年人政治参与的特征及影响因素

政治行为与参与特征往往受特定社会形态的影响。今天的法国青年人对体制内参与渠道的认同感大大降低,日益疏离于政治投票及政党、工会生活,转而采用其他更直接更符合个人意愿的政治参与方式。但这种变化并不能说明代议制民主在青年人那里遭遇到认同危机,它实际上反映了青年人对传统政治参与方式有效性的理性反思,是一种对公民政治生活方式的创新与重构,尽管在这个过程中,因为个人经历、社会经济状况、受教育程度的差异会不同程度地影响到他们的政治态度和参与方式及参与度。     

Young people as global citizens: negotiation of youth civic participation in adult-managed online spaces

With the proliferation of new media technologies, online spaces for civic engagement are being used as new sites by the young people for enacting global citizenship. Some of these online civic spaces are managed by parent organizations and guide the participants towards accomplishing goals that align with the institutional policies. We use Stuart Hall’s theoretical framework to ground the two methods we used for empirical research- textual analysis of the selected online spaces and in-depth interviews with young bloggers. Our analysis shows how negotiated reading of the encoded messages on the online platforms for youth civic engagement marks a political moment of signification in which there lies a possibility of challenging the dominance of the adult centered notions of civic engagement. Shelat’s online civic culture framework [2014. “Citizens, Global Civic Engagement on Online Platforms: Women as Transcultural Citizens.” Dissertation] helped us examine how these managed platforms encode global citizenship with pre-designed participatory practices that reinforce the hegemonic definition of youth political participation. Interviews of young bloggers on two online global spaces foreground the process of negotiation with the dominant definitions and the use of decoding strategies to create scope for subjective, more local definitions, as well as practices of civic engagement and global citizenship. Though literature suggests that adult-management of online youth spaces perpetuate a gap between the adult-centric notions of participation and the youth oriented ideas of civic engagement, our study reveals that the young participants find ways of articulating their ideas and enter these spaces with plans on how to fulfill their civic goals.     

Youth,activism, and social movements

There has been considerable debate over the extent and role of young people's political participation. Whether considering popular hand‐wringing over concerns about declines in young people's institutional political participation or dismissals of young people's use of online activism, many frame youth engagement through a “youth deficit” model that assumes that adults need to politically socialize young people. However, others argue that young people are politically active and actively involved in their own political socialization, which is evident when examining youth participation in protest, participatory politics, and other forms of noninstitutionalized political participation. Moreover, social movement scholars have long documented the importance of youth to major social movements. In this article, we bring far flung literatures about youth activism together to review work on campus activism; young people's political socialization, their involvement in social movement organizations, their choice of tactics; and the context in which youth activism takes place. This context includes the growth of movement societies, the rise of fan activism, and pervasive Internet use. We argue that social movement scholars have already created important concepts (e.g., biographical availability) and questions (e.g., biographical consequences of activism) from studying young people and urge additional future research.     

‘The outraged young’: young Europeans,civic engagement and the new media in a time of crisis

Public involvement in traditional political institutions has declined significantly over the past few decades, leading to what some have seen as a crisis in citizenship. This trend is most striking amongst young people, who have become increasingly alienated from mainstream electoral politics in Europe. Nevertheless, there is overwhelming evidence to show that younger citizens are not apathetic about ‘politics’ – they have their own views and engage in democracy in a wide variety of ways that seem relevant to their everyday lives. In the aftermath of the global financial crisis, young Europeans have borne the brunt of austerity in public spending: from spiralling youth unemployment, to cuts in youth services, to increased university tuition fees. In this context, the rise and proliferation of youth protest in Europe is hardly surprising. Indeed, youth activism has become a major feature of the European political landscape: from mass demonstrations of the ‘outraged young’ against political corruption and youth unemployment, to the Occupy movement against the excesses of global capitalism, to the emergence of new political parties. This article examines the role that the new media has played in the development of these protest movements across the continent. It argues that ‘digitally networked action’ has enabled a ‘quickening’ of youth participation – an intensification of political participation amongst young, highly educated citizens in search of a mouthpiece for their ‘indignation’.     

Intra‐ and Inter‐generational Perspectives on Youth Participation in Sweden: A Study with Young People as Research Partners

In this study, intra‐ and inter‐generational perspectives on youth participation are combined and compared. Young people were invited to participate as research partners in an interactive research circle and conducted a survey about participation with other young people as respondents. The discussion concerns how an interactive methodology contributes to the understanding of the concept of participation. It is suggested that political definitions of participation be amended to include having a sense of being recognised in a communicative context, taking responsibility and share with other people one's experiences. This is based on the perspectives of young people.     

Contradictory tendencies in the political culture of Croatian youth: unexpected anomalies or an expected answer to the social crisis?

A successful democratic consolidation of post-socialist societies depends, among other things, on their citizens’ political culture, younger generations included. Moreover, youth civic engagement today and in the future is a guarantee of the continuity and development of democracy, which means that scientists need to gain insight into young people’s political culture. In this paper we look at political values, institutional trust and participation as relevant components of the civic political culture. The analysis is based on quantitative data collected in the empirical studies of Croatian youth, carried out between 1999 and 2013. Based on longitudinal study results, a downward trend is identified regarding selected political culture indicators: acceptance of liberal-democratic values, trust in social and political institutions, interest in politics and party preference. However, there is a simultaneous increase in participation in various types of organizations, especially political parties. The interpretation of established tendencies is placed in a broader context of an inherited democratic deficit, economic recession and social crisis. Current trends are both indicators and consequences of young people’s inadequate political socialization as well as weaknesses of political institutions and various actors during the transition and consolidation period.     

Age group differences in political activism in Malaysia

ABSTRACT

There is a dearth of studies on age-related patterns of political activism in Malaysia, specifically on young people’s patterns of political participation relative to their elders, and in relation to the rich literature that has developed in Western democracies. By analysing survey data from Wave 6 (2010–2014) of the World Values Surveys (WVS), this study aims to investigate the differences in political engagement between younger and older people in Malaysia, including new repertoires outside the mainstream politics, by addressing the question of whether young Malaysians are more active in political activities compared to older groups. The findings conform to the expected patterns in the literature that young people are less likely to participate in conventional political activities than their respective elders. However, we find no significant differences for unconventional political participation. The study further shows that demographic indicators such as the levels of education, gender and ethnic group belonging do not appear to be linked to the age gap between youth and their elders in political activism. As such, the study provides evidence that young people in Malaysia are less likely to be politically active than their elders and that this is not clearly attributable to the socio-demographic factors analysed.     

Youth and political economy: towards a Bourdieusian approach

Cotê has called for a focus on a political economy analysis, where young people should be thought of as ‘youth-as-class’. Cotê positions youth as having false consciousness, arguing that youth studies is too focussed on subjectivities and a potential apologist for neo-liberalism. While we acknowledge the central importance of economic considerations, this paper critically engages Cotê’s claims while developing an approach to political economy that recognises the importance of inequalities between young people. We engage with a number of Cotê’s claims arguing that his position underestimates the diversity of work in this area and the importance subjectivities to any analysis of political economy. We also identify a number of conceptual problems with ‘youth-as-class’ and the ‘false consciousness’ heuristic. We develop an alternative approach outlining a more integrative understanding of the relationship between the political and the economy highlighting the importance of subjectivity. We draw on ideas of political ecology; reflexivity and consciousness; and concepts from Bourdieu. Our approach recognises that young people's lives can be shaped by economic forces and by classed symbolic and moral forces. Young people are not passive dupes, but are in a constant reflexive struggle to respond to circumstances not always of their own making.     

China and global internet governance: toward an alternative analytical framework

Drawing on historical methods, this study assesses the conventional “cyber-sovereignty” framework, which has been used to capture and interpret China’s stance toward global Internet governance. This framework focuses on political control and tends to reduce China’s policies to the attempts by an authoritarian state to elevate governments and intergovernmental organizations to be the only legitimate governors of global cyberspace. As it traces the evolution of China’s relationship with the global Internet in the past three decades, the study demonstrates that China’s stance is more complex than the prevalent framework allows and that it is both built upon and different from the US-centric, market-oriented Internet governance scheme. This study recognizes the inadequacy of the conventional framework and invokes a theory of critical political economy of communication, thereby offering an alternative model to explicate the complex power dynamics behind China’s changing strategies. The alternative model advanced in this study is based on the understanding of China’s evolving approach as the product of multifaceted interactions among a group of power-holders that include both state agencies and business units on the transnational level.     

The G20's engagement with civil society: participation without contestation?

ABSTRACT

With global governance experiencing a democratic deficit, the G20's formalized engagement with civil society – the C20 – seems to be an anomaly. However, there is a gap between the G20's rhetoric and practice, with the C20 incorporating civil society organizations (CSOs) into the G20, while also limiting their ability to contribute to its agenda. This article attempts make sense of this gap by analysing the C20 through the modes of participation framework, arguing it represents an attempt to organize and manage social conflicts emerging from civil society, but do so in a way that constrains its ability to contest G20 policy. The article analyses the ways in which the C20 is designed to do so, as well as CSO strategies to overcome these constraints. While these strategies increase CSO's leverage and independence, their effectiveness remains shaped by G20 practices and the underlying political economy structures of the global economy.     

Weibo use and political participation: the mechanism explaining the positive effect of Weibo use on online political participation among college students in contemporary China

This study examines the various aspects of Weibo use, including the number of people users follow; the number of fans they have; the frequency with which they read friends’, celebrities’, and opinion leaders’ Weibo; and the number of Weibo group memberships on youth online political participation in contemporary China. The study also investigates the underlying mechanisms explaining the positive effects of Weibo use on youth online political participation using survey methods. Chinese users mainly use Weibo to satisfy their needs for information and connectedness. As an alternative source of information, Weibo indeed functions as an ‘online school of political participation’ to foster political interest, a sense of belonging to an online community, and civic virtue among Weibo users. As a new platform for Chinese to form online civic groups, memberships in Weibo groups significantly increases users’ likelihood of being politically mobilized, which is essential for online collective participation. Our study shows that Verba, Schlozman, and Brady’s [(1995). Voice and equality: Civic voluntarism in American politics. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press] civic voluntarism model can be extended to the online environment in an authoritarian system.     

The pedagogical political participation model (the 3P-M) for exploring,explaining and affecting young people’s political participation

In young people’s political participation in public decision-making, research and youth policy may benefit from a participation model that is pedagogical and sensitive to context. Due to the limitations of established participation models, the pedagogical political participation model (referred to here as the 3P-M) is suggested. The 3P-M is a theoretical and methodologically embedded model that builds on three observations: (1) that young people (as a category) are always presented as dependent on and subordinate to adults (decision-makers) in public decision-making, (2) that participation cannot be quantitatively measured without being normative and insensitive to context and (3) that different types of pedagogical leadership determine what kind of political participation is possible. The 3P-M offers an analytical framework for practitioners, policymakers and researchers to identify, explain and affect public pedagogical settings and situations in which young people politically participate.     

青年网民网络政治现状调查

网络现已成为公民政治关注和政治参与的重要平台。青年作为网民的主力军和国家的未来，他们在网络中对政治的关注度和参与度一定程度上关系着国家未来的社会政治文明的发展。当今，中国青年网民对网络政治资汛关注度高，信任主流媒介．但他们的政治参与度与政治关注度形成强烈反差，这需要从法规制度的健全、网民政治素养和能力的提升和网络政治参与途径的拓展等方面多管齐下，才能切实解决问题．从而在总体上保障人民当家作主管理国家和社会事务的权利得以实现。     

Business and human rights governance and democratic legitimacy: the UN “Protect,Respect and Remedy” Framework and the Guiding Principles

Global Corporate Social Responsibility schemes have assumed an authoritative role in today's diversifying global business and human rights governance regime, yet scholarship has paid scant attention to their democratic credentials. This article analyzes the democratic legitimacy of the UN “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework and the corresponding Guiding Principles, as developed by the former UN Special Representative for Business and Human Rights, Professor Ruggie. Applying De Búrca's democracy striving approach, the article provides insights into how the design and actual performance of the six year mandate of the Special Representative meet the democratic ideal of equality, participation and accountability. The findings hold that, to guarantee the continuant striving for the fullest and equal participation of all stakeholders, further steps are warranted to ensure that individuals from the Global South can equally and meaningfully partake in the implementation process of the Guiding Principles and contest their authority if deeming them to fail to meet the normative expectations of the people.     

全球城市：我们还能视而不见吗-

本文呼吁在世界事务研究中对全球城市给予更多的关注,以便更全面地解读全球治理这一由相互重叠的管辖权力范围组成的多层次的进程。文章指出,国际研究对全球城市的战略角色非常不敏感,同时展现了全球城市如何通过发挥其联网能力在世界舞台上演绎纵横,从城市的角度为厘清全球治理多层次的治理性提供了线索。笔者认为,通过全球城市的视角,能够使理论学者将被治理方式与政治团体相隔开的宏观进程与微观动态联系起来。     

IRENA as a glocal actor: pathways towards energy governmentality

For decades renewable energy has remained a “blind spot” within the sphere of international energy governance. The existing institutional network is highly fragmented, resulting in a myriad of international organizations, which all claim to deal with energy issues, yet do not focus on renewables on a global scale. Since 2009, IRENA, the International Renewable Energy Agency, seeks to fill up this vacuum, thereby creating a new (and maybe more Southern-led) political arena for governing renewable energy issues. This article focuses on IRENA’s role as a changemaker in the sphere of global energy governance by investigating IRENA’s governance practices and contributions to knowledge production.     

Labour in Global Production: Reflections on Coxian Insights in a World of Global Value Chains

Abstract

This essay reflects on Robert W. Cox's work on global production, labour, and labour governance, and considers how his insights might illuminate the present conjuncture for labour in production. I work with an understanding of that conjuncture as involving the rise to pre-eminence of global production networks (GPNs) and global value chains (GVCs) as the contemporary expression of the ongoing globalization of production. The primary tasks of the essay are twofold: first, to explore the dynamics of labour and power in the GVC-based global economy, with a particular emphasis on labour exploitation; and second, to link these questions to those of the governance of the global economy, focusing on the shift towards transnational private governance as the dominant mode of contemporary governance, and on the evolving strategies of organized labour and the International Labour Organization in that context.     

Envisioning Democracy: Participatory Filmmaking with Homeless Youth

This paper explores the democratic potential for participatory filmmaking with homeless youth, as well as the constraints and dilemmas associated with this visual method. Theorizing democracy through the work of Hannah Arendt and Pierre Bourdieu, the paper approaches democracy not as an end, but rather as a process that seeks to lessen social injustice. Bourdieu's work helps us appreciate, however, that this process is constrained by structures of inequality that shape access to the political dispositions that enable such engagement. Consistent with other research on low‐income and marginalized young people, this study found that homeless youth engage with democracy through forms of community participation and mutual support, and are disinclined to orient toward liberal democratic structures such as voting and political parties, which they see as harmful or problematic. With a focus on one particular dilemma faced by the research team—namely, the question of how to make sense of and represent the issue of legalizing marijuana, which had been signaled by the youth participants as of primary political importance to them—the paper uses Arendt and Bourdieu to discuss how participatory filmmaking can help to expand the space of appearances available to homeless youth in Canadian society, and create a space at a shared table of understanding with middle class power brokers.     

民主视角下青年网络政治参与的效应与政策选择

公民政治参与是现代民主的核心要素。青年政治参与是公民政治参与的重要组成部分，关系着中国民主建设状况与政治发展方向。青年政治参与先后出现过计划经济时代的政治动员型参与、市场经济时代的利益趋动型参与、网络时代的自我表达型参与三种类型。青年是网络政治参与的重要主体，由于网络自身的适时性、便捷性、交互性，再加之现实政治参与渠道的狭窄，在网络空间的青年政治参与表现出迥异于物质世界青年政治参与的活跃性。网络政治参与是青年政治参与新的增长点，不过其自身也存在着非理性、失范性、网络民粹主义、网络谣言等负面效应。为此，构建引导青年网络政治参与的政策与制度势在必行。     

Democracy denied,youth participation and criminalizing digital dissent

Attention is given in this article to recent action by many liberal states to regulate and criminalize certain forms of political dissent reliant on new media. I ask how those working in the fields of youth studies and social science more generally might understand such processes of criminalizing political dissent involving young people digital media. I do this mindful of the prevailing concern about a ‘crisis in democracy’ said to be evident in the withdrawal by many young people from traditional forms of political engagement, and the need to encourage greater youth participation in democratic practices. A heuristic or guiding frame is developed to analyse how new laws, amendments to existing laws and other regulatory practices are being implemented to contain certain forms of political participation, performed in large part by young people. A case study of ‘Distributed Denial of Service action’ is offered to examine government responses to political practices which I argue constitute legitimate forms of protest and civil disobedience.