Abstract
This study aims to identify factors affecting youth political participation, especially in the local and national elections. The research examines the influence of regional affiliation, family income, age, and gender as economic and social factors that affect the political participation of the youth. The study reviews academic publications, peer-reviewed articles, and other existing literature to gather information and analyze it through meta-analysis. It concluded that socioeconomic factors such as regional affiliations, family income, age, regional affiliation, and gender influence the political participation of the youth, especially in local and national elections. The study also found that these socioeconomic factors can be linked to political socialization and exposure, political efficacy, political interest, and political culture as factors that make the youth reluctant to participate in political activities such as voting.
Introduction
Political participation is an essential political topic as it helps determine citizens’ intrigue in political challenges in their society. The intrigue may be in different forms, such as demonstration, rejection, or support. Meanwhile, especially in developing countries, the political participation of the youth plays a primary role in influencing political change (Pontes et al., 2019). However, the voting of youths in elections is usually poor, even if they represent the largest group in most countries. Therefore, what gender-based societal norms and culture impact the political participation of youths? How do economic inequalities shape youth political participation? What role does regional affiliation play in youth engagement in political activities? How does age influence the youth’s perceptions of political interest and efficacy?
Most states and countries have had a democratic transition, with political parties resuming activities to increase political participation. The laws and constitution have also received amendments to influence the participation of all segments of citizens at the local and national levels (Alelaimat, 2023). Although the political activities have initiated economic and political reform that has led to an increase in political participation, the youth are still reluctant to participate in politics. Therefore, this research will examine the factors influencing youths’ voting in developing countries at the local and national levels, examining the reasons for voting and not voting, focusing on some economic and social factors.
Literature Review
Stauffer (2021) and Lawless (2004) examine the effect of gender on political participation among the youth. They emphasize that females’ political participation has always been lower than that of males. They attributed the lower participation to women’s belief that their ability to make political change is still weak and women’s political alienation. They concluded that these reasons are the primary cause of female youths’ limited and low participation in civil organizations, political parties, and political issues. These factors further fuel the lack of equity with male counterparts, their sense of marginalization, and women’s low political aspirations. Anigwe (2014) also agrees that the historical notion that men are superior to women affects the political participation of female youths. Hence, female youths face barriers associated with cultural norms and societal expectations. Therefore, young women are unlikely to be involved in politics as they believe it is not their niche. Females in leadership positions are even mocked, as some societies believe women should primarily be at home taking care of their families (Anigwe, 2014). Due to the domination of men in politics, young females aspiring to be politicians get discouraged by unequal access to opportunities and resources related to gender-based discrimination.
Youths are unlikely to participate in political activities because of their young age. Reichert & Print (2018) and Pontes et al. (2019) investigated the influence of age on political participation. They discovered political participation variation among various age groups, such as older people, adults, and young people. The lowest participation was among the youths, especially those still in school. They attributed the low participation of the youths to their poor involvement in community activities and lack of interest in political issues. Also, the low participation was due to their segregation in the activities of political parties. Most significantly, the youths expressed that there had been no tangible achievements by the elected leaders yet. Pontes et al. (2019) suggested that students should be encouraged to participate in politics through the incorporation of citizenship education in the curriculum. Reichert & Print (2018) implied that the engagement of the youths in community and political activities and electoral campaigns could increase the participation of the youth in elections.
Fahmy (2017) examines the political participation of youths from low-income families generally, while Holzner (2010) examines the political participation of youths from low income, particularly in colleges. Both authors discovered that wealth and high income of parents encourage the youth to engage in the government and participate politically. On the other hand, the low income of the youth parent discourages their participation in politics. Fahmy (2017) and Holzner (2010) emphasize that youth from wealthy families may participate more in politics as they have the resources and funding from their parents, while youths from low income may participate less in politics as they lack the resources needed. Again, the youths from low-income families suggested they had no motivation to vote. This is because they suffer the most due to the dire economic and social decisions of politicians, which advantage the wealthy and hurt the poor more as most politicians are wealthy, which makes them push the agendas of wealthy people more.
Regional political structures that are more accessible and inclusive of youths encourage youth to engage. In contrast, regions with limited political freedom and authoritarian regimes discourage the youth from participating in political activities (Abdalla, 2018), (Tereshchenko, 2013). In the latter region, youth face considerable challenges to participation, such as a lack of avenues for civil engagement, repression, and censorship. Regional differences in racial and ethnic diversity also impact youth voting. Some ethnic groups feel they receive inadequate political attention and are marginalized in society; hence, they do not have enough reason to vote (Alelaimat, 2023). Youths who are from regions that are occupied by refugees or are refugees are also less likely to participate in politics as they feel that politics is not efficient and they still even lack essential services.
Interpretation
Political participation is influenced by how people feel about local and national politics. For instance, females participate less in elections as they feel that they are less alienated from politics. Youth from low-income families participate less in politics as they feel that politicians are not concerned about them. Again, ethnic groups in some regions feel isolated by the government and hence feel no need to participate in politics as the government has no regard for their agendas. Youths from wealthy families are more likely to participate in politics as they have time and resources to devote to politics, unlike the youth from low-income families who devote their time to rescuing themselves from poverty and have no money to spend on political activities. Again, most politicians are wealthy as running for political parties requires much money, and hence, the politicians may end up fighting for the rights of the wealthy as they do not understand the woes of the poor, which further discourages voting for youth from low-income families. Generally, the youths are reluctant to participate in politics as they feel that voting does not affect changes in governance. Additionally, they have no interest in following political development and news, so they may not be attracted to vote.
Conclusion
Primarily, the youth do not care about civil society and political party activities as they feel they do not directly impact or positively change their lives. Social and economic factors such as age, gender, family income, and regional affiliation significantly impact youth participation in elections and other political activities. Regions have different political freedoms and structures that impact the participation of the youth in political activities. Economic inequalities influence whether an individual’s youth will vote or not. Female youth are less likely to participate in political activities due to societal and cultural barriers that favor male youths. Therefore, despite various efforts to encourage youths to participate in politics, some youths are still reluctant due to societal inequalities and challenges.
Bibliography
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Alelaimat, M.S. (2023). “Factors affecting political participation (Jordanian universities students’ voting: field study 2017-2018)”, Review of Economics and Political Science, Vol. 8 No. 1, pp. 54–67. https://doi.org/10.1108/REPS-05-2019-0072
Anigwe, A. (2014). Perceptions of women in political leadership positions in Nigeria (Doctoral dissertation, Walden University).
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Tereshchenko, A. (2013). Ukrainian youth and civic engagement: unconventional participation in local spaces. In Youth and social change in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union (pp. 91-107). Routledge.
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