The Paradox of Political Marginalisation: Young People and Political Power

Descripción del proyecto

La marginación política de los jóvenes

La infrarrepresentación de determinados grupos sociales en los cargos políticos, lo cual se conoce como marginación política, socava la igualdad de voz, distorsiona la toma de decisiones y amenaza la legitimidad democrática. El problema persiste debido a una comprensión limitada de las normas sociales subyacentes relativas al poder político. En la actualidad, no existe una teoría exhaustiva que explique las razones por las que los grupos infrarrepresentados tienen menos probabilidades de aspirar al poder político que otros. El equipo del proyecto YOPOW, financiado por el Consejo Europeo de Investigación, estudiará la marginación política examinando cómo las normas sociales contribuyen a las creencias sesgadas sobre quién es apto para el poder entre los jóvenes. El proyecto utilizará el aprendizaje automático y la interpretación exhaustiva para analizar los mensajes sobre el poder político dirigidos a los jóvenes, sus creencias sobre el poder y sus primeras experiencias con el poder político en las organizaciones juveniles.

Objetivo

Political marginalisation, understood as the systematic underrepresentation of social groups in political office, constitutes a major democratic problem. By betraying the ideal of equal voice, it biases political decision making, challenges democratic legitimacy, and ultimately risks creating political alienation and discontent. Yet, we fail to understand the persistence of the problem because extant research has not probed the underlying norms that exist in a society about what political power is, who can hold it, and how it can be exercised. Thus, while we know that members of underrepresented groups do not reach out for power to the same extent as others, we do not have a theory that can explain why the voices missing from politics seem to exclude themselves, while those already represented speak with great fervour.

YOPOW breaks new ground in the study of political marginalisation by locating its roots in societal norms about political power that make a lasting imprint already early in life. The theoretical framework explains how societal norms affect young people through the messages they receive and internalise and the unequal experiences they have with political power. Methodologically pioneering, the project combines machine-learning techniques and in-depth interpretations to detect how societal norms pattern the meaning of political power across societies and social groups.

Empirically, YOPOW generates the first-of-its-kind database of messages about political power directed at young people; insights into their beliefs about power expressed in their own words; and novel data on youths’ early experiences with political power in political youth organisations.

This project will significantly improve our understanding of one of the most serious and persistent challenges for democracies of today and the future by exposing the societal norms that give rise to biased beliefs and eventually shape who is seen as fit for power among society’s youngest members.