Contenu du sommaire : La participation civique et politique des jeunes en Europe : obstacles et facilitations

Young people are called to be the political players of tomorrow, and their involvement is crucially important for the future of our democracies. The articles presented in this number approach this question with particular attention to youth who come from an immigrant background and young women who may be the subjects of discrimination. Most of the contributions arise from the international research project known as PIDOP (Processes Indicating Democratic Ownership and Participation) financed by the European Union and carried out in the setting of nine different nations. PIDOP research has shown up a number of constant findings which political leaders will do well to take into account. Broadly speaking, these young people find that they are not taken seriously by politicians or by adults in general. This lack of response to them lessens their belief in their own capability to have an influence in politics. Young women in particular see themselves as victims of prejudice, hampered in their attempts to join in civic and political life. However, in all these countries and in every group, the youth show a marked interest in the questions that are raised at a local (rather than a national) level, and can put a lot of effort into civic (rather than political) activity. The light shed on this by the articles as a whole is completed by the additional information given by two articles relating to violent radicalisation.

This article addresses the relationship between age, ethnic identity and civic-political participation amongst ethnic minority young people living in Greater London, U.K. British Bangladeshi and Congolese young people aged 16-17 and 20-26 years old participated in focus groups, which were analysed using thematic analysis. This analysis brought to our attention a number of themes common to both ethnic groups, for example the phenomenon of a double discrimination against young people and its internalisation, young people's perception of the ineffectiveness of institutions and the importance of the female role in society. Themes particular to each ethnic group included the relationship with other European countries, islamophobia, individual action and the role of culture. The individual and social implications are discussed.

This gender-based approach to a sample of young French-speaking Belgians between 16 and 20 attending secondary school (889 subjects of whom 51.5 % were girls and 48.5 % boys) usefully juxtaposes the social relations of gender and class (identified from the schools attended) so as to understand how young people situate themselves politically. The new generation is shown to be broadly conscious of its good luck in being able to live in Europe and in Belgium, but also quite disillusioned and critical of the usual and generally accepted views about politics, and also of the ways political power is being exercised at different levels. The youth reject decisions and developments which they see as contrary to their own interests and the harmonious progress of the world.

A survey to discover whether young people were likely to engage and to remain engaged in politics was carried out in Belgium and Germany amongst those who belong to the Turkish immigration. Questionnaires were completed by 1,335 young people : 57.1% in Liège (Belgium) and 42.9 % in Jena (Germany). Engagement in civic life and the will to persevere in it depend on their motivation and the obstacles in their way, on social norms, on the example given by friends and parents, on their own interest in and attention to politics, on their confidence in the institutions, and finally on their sense of having a real collective influence. It is this group of psychosocial factors that is at the root of political engagement, besides the conditions that are specific to each country and to young people of the Turkish immigration in each country.

In this article we inquire into motives for collective action amongst members of minority groups, specifically young Roma and Ukrainians in the Czech Republic. Our point of departure is the literature in which their disadvantaged situation is identified as a possible motive. In our study, the young people of the minorities identified discrimination as their number one problem that produces anger and frustration. From their responses it appears that these negative feelings by themselves do not have the potential to provoke collective action, but rather the belief that a concerted action is able to change things for the better. It is when the experience of discrimination goes along with a strong sense of having a real combined influence that they are more likely to take action. The findings show how feelings of anger and frustration serve as triggers to action.

Thanks to the responses to a PIDOP questionnaire addressed to young migrants of Turkish origin aged from 16 to 26 (n. = 205), it has been possible to analyse to what extent their involvement in social organisations has or has not been limited to religious organisations of their own ethnicity. It was also possible to ask whether their engagement tended to integrate them into society or to keep them apart. The results show that whilst their religious commitment does indeed represent the principal form their involvement takes, it is not limited to this. They also involve themselves in the organisations of the host society. We are struck by the fact that young people of Turkish origin who are involved in religion actually put more effort into a whole number of organisations than do those of their peers who have no religious involvement. They also display higher values for the different indicators of competence in civic affairs and show no tendency to withdraw from the host society.

In this article we comment on the results of an inquiry carried out in the framework of the Stresiavora project.This project was set up to offer a nudge in the right direction to vulnerable young people that might equip them to take a stand against violent radicalisation. It presents three relevant approaches which allow us to observe radicalisation from a new point of view. In addition it analyses some promising methods of preventing radicalisation, ones that have been appraised at home or abroad. Finally the project has made it possible to make specific recommendations and to contribute to ‘Bounce', a programme of resistance designed for young people, their social surroundings and workers in the field. It follows from the results of this inquiry that the method chosen must cover all aspects of the problem and also be fully integrated into their lives. It must pursue a positive approach towards young people, using and building on those positive motivations which play a part in their lives.

The violent radicalisation of the young is a complex multi-factorial phenomenon. It can be decoded on the basis of feelings of social frustration, injustice and discrimination, together serving to weaken confidence in the possibility of a just response by society.The radical group can then appear to the most vulnerable young people, those unsettled about their identity, as the organisation that answers to their needs. The jihadist struggle offers the sentiment of belonging to a common cause and a way of discovering the meaning of events. When the courts of justice take measures to have minors placed in institutions for radicalised youth, aside from any question of the use of doing this and the risks it may pose to existing structures, there is a duty to think through the psycho-educational measures that can be brought to bear. The first stage in the context of protection and prevention is to avoid treating them as a special case, so as to steer clear of the danger of stigmatising and victimising them over again. Taking these young people in charge depends on targeting the needs that led them to involvement in violent radicalism in the first place. Their pursuit of a direction in life, of security, of a coherent understanding, of social recognition and self-control, all have to be transformed to meet the objectives of the psycho-educational action taken in the course of the placement. Apart from its containing and structuring dimension, the nature and the rationality of this involvement and the coherence of the pluridisciplinary and multicultural educational team have to give the young people the opportunity of identifying themselves in new ways and building relationships that will help them disengage from the processes of radicalisation.

The idea of lowering the voting age to 16 has certainly not been the subject of any political or social claim today. However it is more and more making headway. For example, Austria did it in 2007 and so did Scotland for the referendum of 2014. Before we can judge the pertinence of lowering the voting age, all the arguments for and against have to be known and discussed. This the article sets out to do. It ends by demonstrating how such a measure when accompanied by appropriate activity in school would make it possible to counter the lack of interest shown by many young people for politics.