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Growing into politics?: The development of adolescents' views on democracy over time

Nieuwelink,Hessel
; 
ten Dam,Geert
; 
Geijsel,Femke
; 
Dekker,Paul
Abstract
This study focuses on how views on democracy develop during adolescence. A total of 40 Dutch adolescents were interviewed in their second and fourth year of secondary education. The study shows that the interviewed adolescents do become more familiar with politics but do not develop more nuanced views towards democracy. As the adolescents age, a one-dimensional perspective on democracy becomes more apparent. In the interviewees' perspective, democracy increasingly equals majority rule. Other aspects, such as minority interests and finding consensus, are increasingly neglected. This study, therefore, suggests that adolescents do not naturally' develop more complex views on democracy when they age.
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Date
2018
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Tilburg University Research Output Collection
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Keywords
adolescents, decision-making preferences, models of democracy, perceptions of politics, political socialization, DECISION-MAKING, FAMILY, SOCIALIZATION, ENGAGEMENT, STABILITY, ATTITUDES, FREEDOM, PEER, LIFE
Citation
Nieuwelink, H, ten Dam, G, Geijsel, F & Dekker, P 2018, 'Growing into politics? The development of adolescents' views on democracy over time', Politics, vol. 38, no. 4, pp. 395-410. https://doi.org/10.1177/0263395717724295
URI
https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14602/71625
License
info:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess
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