Young people’s political discourse: Voice, efficacy and impact

International audienceProminent discourses of politically engaged young people in Western Europe have evolvedrecently. This can be attributed to a variety of reasons, notably, a greater proportion of thepopulation going into further and higher education, a shift in shared values among many inthe young generation, evolutions in the issues triggering mobilisation, the increased use ofdigital media and the more global nature of actions. This chapter deals with the expressionand reception of prominent political discourse among much of the contemporary younggeneration. The main question addressed here is: to what extent do the actions of politicallyengaged young people enable them to enter dialogue with decision-makers and bring aboutchanges in public decisions? To answer this question, the authors provide both an analysis ofpolitical discourses produced by young people and politicians at a macro-sociological level,and, material from their own field research in neighbouring countries Britain and France.Thechapter shows the impact of the young generation’s political discourse on policymaking is notalways very effective because the ambivalent status of young people means their voices arenot always acted on by powerholders to any real effect