Engaging with Young People’s Conceptions of the Political

In many states, there are concerns about declining levels of political engagement and participation among young people. Our understanding of this decline, however, is limited because much of the research on youth politics is based on a narrow conception of ‘the political’, little attempt is made to explore how people themselves define politics, non-participation is not adequately problematised, and there are insufficient youth-specific explanations for declining participation among young people. Drawing on fieldwork carried out in Britain, I argue there is a need to develop an approach and research methodology that engages with young people’s conceptions of the political.