Youth political participation in the United States
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document in english
political science
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published 07/07/2008
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SummaryStatistical analysis of voting trends in the United States show that after reaching stable levels in 1950, voter participation has decreased significantly throughout the last half of the twentieth century. This trend has been especially noted among youthful voters between the ages of 18 and 34. The realization that so many young people are failing to participate in the political process is a trend that has alarmed many political leaders and analysts. The issue has become so pervasive that many scholars are now attempting to delineate the specific problems that are impeding the development of youth political participation.At the present time, youth political participation in the United States remains historically low. Even in the 2004 Presidential election when youth political participation was supposed to reach an all time high, the number of voters between the ages of 18 and 34 that showed up at the polls only increased 1.6 percent over the 2000 election (Brown, 2005). Although this gain does indeed represent an improvement, it demonstrates the consistent problems that political activists have had when it comes to attracting youthful voters. Given the importance of the voting process to the maintenance of democracy, there is a clear impetus to understand why youth political participation remains consistently low.With the realization that youth political participation is such a critical issue for the development of social and political discourse, this investigation seeks to provide a broad overview of the situation and the specific theories that scholars have offered with respect to the issue.
Table of Contents
- Introduction.
- Trends in Youth Political Participation.
- Recent Efforts to Boost Youthful Voter Participation.
- Theories of Voter Participation.
- Determining Why People Vote.
- Determining Why People Do Not Vote.
- Youth Political Participation.
- Putnam's Theory.
- Application of Putnam's Theory.
- Social Capital'A Closer Look.
- Social Disenfranchisement of America's Youth.
- Synthesis of the Research.
- Conclusion/Recommendations.
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