Young trendsetters: How young voters fuel electoral volatility

Sociological theory posits that social change occurs first and foremost among young people, who set trends that may eventually carry over to older citizens. This study examined to what extent this proposition applies to electoral shifts by comparing parties’ electoral gains among young (age 24) in 21 Western established democracies between 1948 and 2019. An analysis of 219 national election surveys revealed that winning parties typically gained disproportionately among young voters. This youth bonus was even stronger for new parties, whose electoral breakthroughs were importantly facilitated by youths. Electoral shifts among young voters furthermore predicted similar changes among older citizens in the subsequent election. This indicates that young people are not only more sensitive to electoral trends, but that they can also set trends that eventually carry over to older citizens. Young voters should therefore be seen as important drivers of electoral volatility

Generations and the changing character of support for European unification in the Netherlands: a research note

This study examines whether younger generations are more likely to associate their support for European unification with cultural, rather than economic issues. The EU has changed from an ‘economic community’ to a ‘political union.’ Because most citizens form relatively stable orientations during their ‘impressionable years,’ we expect recent generations to be more likely to view European unification through a cultural lens. An analysis of 12 waves of panel data from the Netherlands finds the strongest correlation between EU support and cultural attitudes among the newest generations. However, these generations are not less likely to associate EU support with economic attitudes. Moreover, between 2007 and 2019, Euroscepticism became increasingly associated with cultural attitudes among all generations and age groups. These findings indicate that EU support has become more strongly aligned along a cultural dimension and that this realignment will become more pronounced as newer generations replace earlier ones