This book evaluates the role that civic engagement, political participation and active citizenship can play in promoting the establishment of a European polity. The chapters included here examine how the practice of active citizenship is managed and constructed in the context of a European drive to increase civic engagement and political participation in three member states (Portugal, Italy and the UK) and one accession country (Turkey). Looking at both processes and policies promoting active citizenship at the European and national levels, this book uncovers current discourses as well as political priorities and values that surround the activities of non- governmental organizations (NGOs). Of particular interest are debates about the nature and level of civic and political participation and engagement of marginal groups (women, youths, migrants and minorities) as they are particularly vulnerable to social exclusion. The book focuses on the interaction between institutions and civil society actors, addressing a number of questions related to their reciprocal role in influencing, shaping, criticising or disregarding certain political priorities. This book was published as a special issue of the Journal of Civil Society.

This book evaluates the role that civic engagement, political participation and active citizenship can play in promoting the establishment of a European polity. The chapters included here examine how the practice of active citizenship is managed and constructed in the context of a European drive to increase civic engagement and political participation in three member states (Portugal, Italy and the UK) and one accession country (Turkey). Looking at both processes and policies promoting active citizenship at the European and national levels, this book uncovers current discourses as well as political priorities and values that surround the activities of non- governmental organizations (NGOs). Of particular interest are debates about the nature and level of civic and political participation and engagement of marginal groups (women, youths, migrants and minorities) as they are particularly vulnerable to social exclusion. The book focuses on the interaction between institutions and civil society actors, addressing a number of questions related to their reciprocal role in influencing, shaping, criticising or disregarding certain political priorities. This book was published as a special issue of the Journal of Civil Society.

Based upon a three-year multi-disciplinary international research project, Political and Civic Participation examines the interplay of factors affecting civic and political engagement and participation across different generations, nations and ethnic groups, and the shifting variety of forms that participation can take. The book draws upon an extensive body of data to answer the following key questions: Why do many citizens fail to vote in elections? Why are young people turning increasingly to street demonstrations, charitable activities, consumer activism and social media to express their political and civic views? What are the barriers which hinder political participation by women, ethnic minorities and migrants? How can greater levels of engagement with public issues be encouraged among all citizens? Together, the chapters in this volume provide a comprehensive overview of current understandings of the factors and processes which influence citizens’ patterns of political and civic engagement. They also present a set of evidence-based recommendations for policy, practice and intervention that can be used by political and civil society actors to enhance levels of engagement, particularly among youth, women, ethnic minorities and migrants. Political and Civic Participation provides an invaluable resource for all those who are concerned with citizens’ levels of engagement, including: researchers and academics across the social sciences; politicians and political institutions; media professionals; educational professionals and schools; youth workers and education NGOs; and leaders of ethnic minority and migrant organizations and communities.

Although many scholars are convinced of the apparent civic disengagement of youth, others suggest that civic participation of young people is stable and increasingly expressed through non-institutionalized forms of practicing politics. This book makes a key contribution to this discussion by asking whether the "decline or shift" paradigm is sufficient in understanding political participation of the youth. It argues that we need to move beyond this framework and develop a renewed reflection on the meaning of "civic and political engagement". It asks crucial questions such as: How can the young be educated into assuming civic and political responsibility? Why and how do young people engage in social and political action? How do the principal mediating institutions (education, media and the family) contribute to new or different forms of youth civic engagement? This text contains contributions from acknowledged specialists such as Constance Flanagan, Mark Elchardus, Marc Hooghe and Bert Klandermans and will be of key interest to students and scholars of youth and young citizens, civic & political involvement, European politics, youth studies, sociology, political participation and electoral behaviour.

The book provides an overview of key issues in the debate concerning the emergence of active citizenship in Europe. The specific focus of enquiry is the promotion of patterns of civic and political engagement and civic and political participation by the EU and the relative responses drawn by organizations of the civil society operating at the supranational level and in Italy, Turkey and the UK. More specifically, it addresses key debates on the engagement and participation of organized civil society across the permanent state of euro-crisis, considering the production of policy discourses along the continuum that characterized three subsequent and interrelated emergency situations (democratic, financial and migration crises) that have hit Europe since 2005. Active Citizenship in Europe will be of interest to students and scholars in a range of fields, including sociology, politics, European studies and international studies.

Based upon a three-year multi-disciplinary international research project, Political and Civic Participation examines the interplay of factors affecting civic and political engagement and participation across different generations, nations and ethnic groups, and the shifting variety of forms that participation can take. The book draws upon an extensive body of data to answer the following key questions: Why do many citizens fail to vote in elections? Why are young people turning increasingly to street demonstrations, charitable activities, consumer activism and social media to express their political and civic views? What are the barriers which hinder political participation by women, ethnic minorities and migrants? How can greater levels of engagement with public issues be encouraged among all citizens? Together, the chapters in this volume provide a comprehensive overview of current understandings of the factors and processes which influence citizens’ patterns of political and civic engagement. They also present a set of evidence-based recommendations for policy, practice and intervention that can be used by political and civil society actors to enhance levels of engagement, particularly among youth, women, ethnic minorities and migrants. Political and Civic Participation provides an invaluable resource for all those who are concerned with citizens’ levels of engagement, including: researchers and academics across the social sciences; politicians and political institutions; media professionals; educational professionals and schools; youth workers and education NGOs; and leaders of ethnic minority and migrant organizations and communities.

This book applies a number of different disciplinary and geographical perspectives to ascertain whether and how European youth identify with the EU, trust EU institutions and engage in EU issues. It investigates the factors and processes that predict the different ways in which young Europeans engage (or do not engage) with social and political issues and become active European citizens. The volume is based on results from the first two years of the Horizon 2020 CATCH-EyoU project (“Constructing AcTive CitizensHip with European Youth: Policies, Practices, Challenges and Solutions”). It addresses different dimensions of active citizenship in the EU and different processes and contexts that explain the construction of youth active citizenship, including societal-level factors such as policy context and media; interaction-level contexts such as school and family; and individual-level factors. The final chapter emphasizes the impact of the current historical context on the development of young Europeans’ civic identity and their understanding of the social and political reality. With contributions from a variety of disciplines including psychology, political science, communications and education, and spanning geographic contexts across Europe, this book will be of interest to researchers studying contemporary European youth and the construction of young people’s identity. This book was originally published as a special issue of the European Journal of Developmental Psychology. Chapters 1 and 5 are available Open Access at https://www.routledge.com/products/9780367236557.